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So the next time someone asks if you could get medical treatment using water? The answer is YES! This is certainly a surprise to some, and a comfort to others—especially to people who have white coat hypertension. White coat hypertension means you suffer high blood pressure whenever you see a doctor or whenever you’re in the hospital.
Now, imagine getting medical treatment at home. You won’t have to suffer excruciating rides to see the doctor when you’re suffering from back or joint pains. You don’t have to wait for your shrink to respond to your calls when you’re so stressed and depressed. Instead, you’ll be comfortable and relaxed right where you are.
That’s what water therapy can do for you. Its benefits include relief and cure for high blood pressure, migraine, excessive weight, lower back pain, allergies, and even constipation.
What are water therapy practices you can practice at home?
1) Hot or Cold Water Compress
You can get either a water bag or soak a small hand towel in a basin of hot water. This is best for muscle, stomach, arthritis and joint pains. For a cold compress, you can put ice in a water bag or plastic bag, or soak a small hand towel in cold water. Best remedy for headaches, fever, and immediately after a bruise or a sprain. It’s good practice to keep a gel pack around to either freeze or warm up for emergency cases.
2) Salt Water Baths
This isn’t just a stress-reliever and a skin exfoliator, a salty bath is the answer to easing your arthritic pains. According to this post, water with high salt content reduces the inflammation of joints. After heating up your bathwater into a warm temperature (less than 103F), you can add 2 cups of bath salt to the water. You can try substituting the bath salt with Epsom salt to make it more comfortable to step or sit on.
3) Water Walking
For people with swimming pools at home, this is an excellent way to strengthen joints, bones, and muscles. Due to the heaviness of the water when you’re soaked in, you build your bones and exercise your joints. The deeper you’re underwater, the better and harder the work out. You can try flexing and rotating your joints in all directions. Use a floatation belt to avoid floating and drowning when you’re in deep portions of the pool. You can also try water walking in bathtubs to strengthen your ankles.
4) Water Drinking Therapy
When you wake up in the morning, drink 4-5 glasses of water. Wait at least an hour before eating breakfast. This will efficiently “wake up” your body, especially your excretory system. You can also try drinking a glass of water before every time you eat. This will clean the colon, energize your body, and keep your skin healthy. Drinking plenty of water will also curb your appetite!
5) Hot-Cold Showers
In order to stimulate circulation in the body, especially your skin’s, alternating cold to hot showers is an excellent water therapy. First start the shower warm, and increase the temperature until you can bear it. Soak for 2-3 minutes. Don’t torture yourself, and if it’s too hot, lower the temperature at once. Then, after 3 minutes, start adjusting the temperature to lukewarm, and then cold. Soak for another 2-3 minutes, and switch slowly back to hot afterwards. This will definitely rejuvenate your body—an excellent way to start your day.
Finally, remember to consult your doctor or physical therapist before doing these exercises at home, especially when there’s post physical injury involved.
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