How to use hydrotherapy to relieve joint pain

Chronic joint pain affects many people worldwide. It can make it hard to perform daily activities like cleaning the house, dressing, or looking after your kids.

Chronic joint pain can be caused by a range of factors including injury, degradation, trauma, autoimmune conditions, and many other variables.

Hydrotherapy for relieving joint pain

If you are one of the many people worldwide with chronic joint pain, it might help to know that there things you can do to ease the pain naturally, without medication. One option is hydrotherapy, as we explain below.

Hydrotherapy is the use of water and temperature to bring about physiological change in the human body for healing purposes.

If you have access to a spa or swim spa, you can use hydrotherapy to assist you with managing your joint pain.

How to use your spa or swim spa for joint pain relief

• The spa will be of greatest benefit if it is set between 36 degrees to 40 degrees celsius.
• Bring a smaller tub of chilled water with a few ice cubes floating in the water (to help keep it cool), and set it on the corner of your spa or swim spa.
• For the affected joint, let us say an elbow or wrist, place the joint in the chilled water for one minute and then for 3-5 minutes back into the spa (preferably in front of a jet).
• Then rotate back and forth from hot and cold for 30-45 minutes. The contrasting water temperature can bring incredible pain relief to a sore or painful joint.
• If it is a knee, lower leg, or an ankle you can use a 5-gallon bucket (20 litres) filled with cold water for alternating dunking. A change in water temperature by one degree can change blood flow up to 10% over a very short time.
• This alternating temperature change can increase blood flow, soothe muscles and tendons, and help to improve joint mobility and function.
• For more chronic or injured joints, the best results are found by doing this daily until the joints begin to feel better. The daily hydrotherapy routine can be amazingly helpful for even the worst of joints.

Written by Dr Kyle Neeley

Disclaimer

The advice given in the blogs is about creating new ideas and possibilities that people might not have thought of for helping themselves. Some of the ideas are from recent or past research, some are from helping patients find solutions in clinical settings, and some are things that have worked for several patients. The main point is that we are not diagnosing your condition, its level, the many symptoms and issues that can come with any disorder, and making direct recommendations to your specific condition. These ideas are meant to spark ideas that you can discuss with your health practitioner and get direct advice on your specific condition. This gives you the greatest level of protection and knowing that if you take the ideas and put them into practice that they will not harm you in any way.