After an afternoon of yardwork, I’ll often enjoy a soak in a hot tub with Epsom salts to help relax sore muscles. But it’s only recently that I became aware that hydrotherapy, the use of hot and cold water, has a long therapeutic history.
In his “Letter from the Publisher” (June 2019), Jonathan Collin, MD, wrote about Hydrotherapy in Natural Medicine by Sussanna Czeranko, ND, and his personal experiences with cold-water immersion that left him both relaxed and energized.1 “Why should we take up a technique that largely has been abandoned for a century?” he asks. “For one, it works; for two, it is non-toxic; and for three, it is a simple but effective alternative to drugs and surgery.”
Information on the National University of Natural Medicine website explains that changing the temperature in an area of the body increases blood flow: “This improved circulation sends disease fighting white blood cells through the bloodstream to boost immunity, reduce congestion, and increase the removal of toxins.”2 Not only does hydrotherapy increase the immune response and promote relaxation, it also improves digestion, reduces inflammation, and helps the body detoxify.
Alternating a brief cold-water shower with time in a sauna was a key part of the protocol that Marianne Marchese, ND, describes in her November 2019 column.3 The article describes a woman who sought relief for fibromyalgia-type symptoms caused by the antibiotic fluoroquinolone. Dr. Marchese recommended spending 10 minutes in a sauna “to increase blood flow to the organs of elimination and perspiration” followed by 60-seconds in a cold shower. This pattern was to be repeated five times, ending with a cold rinse.
The thought of standing under cold water gave me the shivers, but I decided to try it. The first time under the cold water was quite a shock, and I was very relieved when the timer sounded 60 seconds. Interestingly, the second time the cold water didn’t feel as cold—even though the faucet was set at the same temperature and I had spent just as much time in the sauna. By the fifth time, the cold shower felt cool rather than cold to me.
It’s worth a try.
Jule Klotter
References
- Collin J. Letter from the Publisher: Sussanna Czeranko, ND’s Hydrotherapy in Naturopathic Medicine. Townsend Letter. June 2019.
- Hydrotherapy. NUNM Health Centers.
- Marchese M. Fibromyalgia and Fluoroquinolone Toxicity – A Case of Antibiotic-Induced Fibromyalgia. Townsend Letter. November 2019.
