What Are the Benefits of Using a Hydrotherapy Tub?

As we age, aches, pains, and discomfort are common and may become everyday. Residents at long-term care facilities frequently experience issues like these, making mobility and other tasks difficult. Ease residents’ discomfort with an innovative hydrotherapy tub to create the ultimate bathing experience in your facilities.

At Apollo Bath, we offer whirlpool hydrotherapy spa options to give users a relaxing, full-body hydrotherapy experience. Our whirlpools may increase blood circulation, strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, energize the body, promote healing, and more! 

What is a hydrotherapy tub – Explained

Hydrotherapy is a form of treatment that uses water. This therapy involves using water temperature variation, water movement, and other unique properties of hydrotherapy tubs to promote health. Either hot or cold water can be used depending on the treatment, desired outcome, and the user.

There are seemingly endless reasons why someone would opt to use hydrotherapy for things like stress relief, and helping with skin-related issues like burns or chronic health conditions like fibromyalgia.

Ultimately, the intention behind hydrotherapy tubs is to help ease both mental and physical symptoms with a relaxing soak. 

What are the benefits of a hydrotherapy tub?

Are you considering implementing hydrotherapy tubs in your assisted living or skilled nursing facility?? Here are some benefits of hydrotherapy that seniors living in long-term care facilities will receive:

1. Mental Health Improvement

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), water-based activities improve mental health by reducing anxiety and depression. 

Seniors living in long-term care facilities can benefit from whirlpool baths. There are relaxation techniques that help reduce stress, illness, and enjoy a better quality of life. 

Offering patients a way to focus their attention on something calming will most likely directly impact their mental health.

2. Helps Manage Pain and Inflammation 

Hydrotherapy helps our muscles to relax. This relaxation lessens stress and pressure on joints, potentially alleviating pain from conditions like arthritis or fibromyalgia. 

One study found that patients with rheumatoid arthritis saw improvement when they engaged in moderate-intensity aquatic exercise. The warm water increases blood flow and helps the body reabsorb fluids faster. This heals injuries more quickly and helps reduce inflammation.

It may also help the pain associated with headaches. Stress is often the culprit of headaches because it constricts blood flow to the brain. Hydrotherapy spa tubs may ease stress. Therefore, they might also limit the onset of stress-induced headaches.

3. Reduces Blood Sugar

Water therapy offers potentially promising results for people with diabetes. It’s a natural and completely safe therapy that may help lower blood sugar, blood pressure, and body weight. All three improve blood circulation, which plays an important role in individuals with diabetes. For those with diabetes, soaking in hot water for 30 minutes every day may alleviate certain symptoms.

4. Promotes Better Sleep

Sleep deprivation is a real thing, and many people suffer from it. Poor sleep is often associated with several chronic health conditions. These conditions may include higher rates of depression, diabetes, arthritis, heart attacks, or coronary heart diseases. This means that finding a solution to getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night will directly impact the conditions just listed. 

Hydrotherapy might promote better sleep by helping individuals relax. This heightened relaxation makes it easier to fall asleep and alleviates stress and anxiety throughout the day.

5. Extreme Relaxing 

These tubs produce a soothing, massage-like feeling on the skin, further heightened by air bubbles forming in the whirlpool bath, which enhance the feeling of the skin and muscles. As residents sit in the water, it exerts pressure on their skin and muscles, which helps move blood through the veins and back towards the heart.

Finally, the light massage given by the hydrotherapy massaging jets triggers nerves in the skin and muscles. This may boost blood circulation to the massaged area, resulting in better tissue oxygenation, toxin evacuation, and muscle relaxation. 

What is the difference between a hydro spa and a hot tub?

A hydro spa, often known as a therapeutic spa, is specially designed for hydrotherapy but on the other hand, a hot tub is more about general relaxation and socializing. This means it’s all about using water for physical and mental wellness. These spas typically have powerful jets strategically placed to target specific areas of the body like your back, neck, or legs. The idea is to provide relief to sore muscles, improve circulation, and promote relaxation. They’re often used for rehabilitation and physical therapy because of these targeted features.

Think of it as your personal warm water retreat where you can unwind after a long day or hang out with friends and family. Hot tubs also have jets, but they’re usually more for creating a relaxing ambiance rather than targeted therapy. They’re great for general muscle relaxation and stress relief, but they don’t focus as much on specific therapeutic benefits.

What are the disadvantages of hydrotherapy?

Hydrotherapy, while beneficial in many ways, does come with some disadvantages. Here’s a rundown of potential downsides:

• Not Suitable for Everyone: Certain health conditions, like severe heart problems, unstable blood pressure, infections, or open wounds, can make hydrotherapy risky. People with these conditions should avoid it or consult a healthcare professional first.

 

• Risk of Infection: If not properly maintained, hydrotherapy pools or tubs can become breeding grounds for bacteria and other pathogens. This can lead to infections, especially for individuals with compromised immune systems.

 

• Physical Risks: There’s a risk of slipping and falling, especially for the elderly or those with mobility issues. The warm water can also potentially lead to overheating or dizziness, especially in a hot tub or spa setting.

 

• Potential for Worsening Certain Conditions: While hydrotherapy can be beneficial for some conditions, it might worsen others. For example, people with skin conditions like eczema might find that prolonged exposure to water exacerbates their symptoms.

 

• Cost and Accessibility: Installing a hydrotherapy setup at home can be expensive. Additionally, accessing hydrotherapy facilities can be challenging for those who don’t have such services nearby or who have mobility issues.

 

• Maintenance and Upkeep: Hydrotherapy equipment and facilities require regular maintenance to ensure safety and hygiene. This can be time-consuming and costly.

 

• Temporary Relief: For some conditions, hydrotherapy might only offer temporary relief, requiring ongoing sessions for sustained benefits, which can be both time-consuming and costly.

How long should you stay in a hydrotherapy tub?

Around 15 to 30 minutes is just right for most people. It’s essential to keep an eye on the clock.  This gives you enough time to soak up all the benefits without overdoing it. But, remember, if the water’s on the hotter side, like around 100°F to 102°F, it’s better to stick closer to 15 minutes. This helps you avoid any downsides, like getting overheated or dizzy. So, relax and enjoy, but always keep an eye on the time for the best experience!

Can hydrotherapy help with weight loss?

While hydrotherapy alone isn’t a magic solution for weight loss, it can certainly complement your overall strategy by enhancing exercise effectiveness and potentially boosting metabolism. Hydrotherapy can be a supportive element in your weight loss plan, primarily through its enhancement of exercise routines and potential metabolic effects. Activities like swimming or water aerobics, which are forms of hydrotherapy, are excellent for burning calories due to water resistance.  It’s also great for muscle building and rehabilitation, which is crucial because stronger muscles improve your overall exercise performance and increase muscle mass, leading to more effective calorie burning.

What does this mean for seniors? 

Hydrotherapy tubs offer promising results for seniors living in assisted care facilities. Giving them the option to undergo hydrotherapy baths means you’re helping improve their quality of life. 

A facility with hydrotherapy capabilities will also be an incentive for both seniors and their families. Offering treatments like these shows the facility cares about their patients’ health and comfort.  

Having access to hydrotherapy also means they’ll not only enjoy the relaxation benefits but may also find an easy way to soothe tired muscles and the symptoms brought forward from health conditions and illnesses. 

From mental health improvement, decreased pain, reduced blood sugar, to relaxation benefits, seniors will enjoy a better quality of life. The best part? It’s an entirely safe, holistic approach to relieving discomfort and other disorders.

Contact us today

At Apollo Bath, we are proud to have been an industry leader in bathing systems and infection control for over 40 years. We work tirelessly to serve the needs of seniors and long-term care professionals.

Are you ready to take advantage of the broad range of therapeutic health benefits hydrotherapy tubs feature? 

Contact us today for more information about how Apollo Bath can serve your facility with the installation of the best hydrotherapy tub on the market.