Constitutional Hydrotherapy is a powerful therapy that uses water and temperature changes to improve the functioning of the internal organs such as the liver, intestines, spleen, stomach, adrenal glands, and kidneys.
The treatment combines alternating hot and cold towels to the back and abdomen with a gentle electrical current to improve circulation, digestion, and detoxification of the organs and tissues of the body.
Constitutional Hydrotherapy, traditionally used by Naturopathic physicians, has a long and interesting history. For more information, see Dr. Flynn’s article here.
The Simple and Profound Effect of Alternating Temperatures
The placement of alternating hot and cold towels onto the torso affects almost all systems in the body. In a typical one-hour treatment, constitutional hydrotherapy enhances immunity, decreases inflammation, improves digestion by enhancing the parasympathetic nervous system and increasing enzyme production by the pancreas, gallbladder, and stomach, improves oxygenation by enhancing circulation of blood through the organs, increases lymphatic circulation through the pumping action of the circulatory system and the sine wave current.
A Naturopathic and Chinese medicine principle that supports the use of hydrotherapy for multiple health conditions is that health depends on good nutritional quality and cleanliness of the blood and the ability of the body to freely circulate the nutrient-filled oxygenated blood to all areas of the body evenly and efficiently. In disease, we often see inflammatory blood of low nutritional quality that is unevenly circulated and, therefore, creates areas of stagnation, leading to pain and toxicity.
When a hot towel is followed with a cold one, it causes blood vessel constriction at the surface, and the blood moves back down into the center of the body where the vital organs reside. If the towel is left on, the body will eventually move the warm blood back up to the surface to warm the towel. This simple process moves the fluid outward and inward, improves blood flow through the liver, skin, kidneys and lungs, and balances the autonomic nervous system, which supports the healing and repair of the tissues and digestion of food.
The Use of a Sine Wave
The sine wave is used with almost every hydrotherapy treatment. It influences the stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, adrenal glands, and liver through gentle sensory stimulation of the spinal nerves and spinal reflexes.
When combined with an individualized diet and lifestyle plan, constitutional hydrotherapy can be a safe and effective treatment for digestive disorders, chronic pain, and depression and is a great addition to a therapeutic detoxification program that also decreases inflammation in the brain and body.
Each program is individualized. However, for best results typically, 6-10 constitutional hydrotherapy treatments over 2-3 weeks are recommended. The cost of each treatment is $75, with package discounts available.
