Using Hydrotherapy for Lower Back

Lower back pain is the number 2 reason in the U.S. that people visit the doctor (after colds and the flu). Millions of people suffer needlessly from lower back pain.

A study published in the British Journal of Rheumatology provided evidence that hot tub therapy has short and long term benefits for people with lower back pain in 1995.

In a study of 40 persons at the University of Minnesota, 85% of the participants chose a whirlpool bath over a still bath. Both were effective in reducing anxiety, but only the whirlpool bath was effective at reducing the participant’s reactivity to stress.

Researchers in France published a study later in the Journal of Rheumatology to confirm these results. Examinations showed improvement in health status (measured in back flexibility and pain duration and intensity) of the spa treatment group than in the medication-only group after three weeks of consistent spa therapy. The use of anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics also decreased in the spa treatment group. This research information was published in the March-April 1996 issue of Arthritis Today.

Hydro therapy use in the back is useful for diseases of the lungs, bronchial asthma, multiple sclerosis, spinal disease, back pain and weakened back muscles. it should not be used on debilitated patients or those with neurasthenia.