The document provides a comprehensive overview of hydrotherapy, including its definition, properties, techniques, and various equipment used in treatment. It outlines the benefits of hydrotherapy such as pain relief, improved circulation, and facilitation of exercises, while also addressing safety guidelines, contraindications, and the necessity for hygiene and maintenance. Additionally, it lists multiple therapeutic modalities and references various authoritative sources for further reading on the subject.

2. • Definition
• Properties
• Indications and Contraindications
• Dress for the patient and therapist
• Hydrotherapy equipments
• Types of hydrotherapy
i. Contrast bath
ii. Whirlpool bath
iii. Hubbard tank
• Safety features
• Hygiene of patient
• Maintenance
• Reference

3. • Use of therapeutic effects of water
• Refers to the use of multi depth immersion pools
or tanks that facilitate the application of various
established interventions including stretching,
joint mobilization, strengthening.
• Goals:
– Facilitate ROM exercises
– Initiate resistance exercises
– Facilitate weight exercises
– Facilitate cardiovascular exercises
– Enhance patient relaxation

4. • Upward force that works opposite to gravity
• Provides resistance to movement when an
extremity is moved against the force of
buoyancy. This helps to strengthen muscles
Buoyancy
• Pressure exerted by the water on immersed
objects
• Increased pressure reduces or limits effusion,
assist venous return, induces bradycardia etc
Hydrostatic
Pressure
• Friction occurring between molecules of
liquid resulting in resistance to flow
• Water’s resistance creates resistance with all
active movements
Viscosity

5. • Have the patient remove the clothing as
necessary
– Rolled up sleeves and pants will often get wet
• Remove all bandages, tape, brace, etc
• Appropriate swim wear
• Swimming cap for long hair

7. • Relaxation
• Detoxification
• Assist wound healing
• Stiffness of whole body or limbs
• Menstrual irregularities
• Increased swelling of the extremities
• Muscular problems: muscle spasm, weakness etc
• Bony or skeletal problems: Arthritis, post fracture
stiffness etc
• Neurological problems: paralytic conditions
• Treatment of burn

8. • People with poor circulation or low vitality should not be subjected to
extremes of temperature
• Diabetes should avoid any heat treatments to their legs
• Extreme fragile skin
• Skin condition which are irritated by moisture
• Area of numbness
• Respiratory dysfunction, vital capacity of less than 1 liter( normal-5L)
• Danger of bleeding and hemorrhage
• Severe kidney diseases
• Severe angina
• Inflammatory diseases in the acute stage
• Water and air borne diseases. e.g: influenza, GIT infections, cholera etc

9. • Avoiding treatment with hydrotherapy soon after
having a meal
• People having AIDS shouldn’t be allowed to the
pool if they have any recent cut.
• If person is mentally retarded
• If the person is wearing contact lens.
• Patient have fear of water.
• Patient have epilepsy.
• If the person is wearing an hearing aids.

10. • An essential element of most hydrotherapy treatment allows a
therapist to bring water into contact with the clients body in
carefully controlled way
• Hydrotherapy equipment's varies with treatment. Eg: Hydro-tech
used for massage and bodywork uses hydro-balloon
• Following are some information you need to consider when
choosing hydrotherapy equipment's:
– Client comfort
– Design( therapist friendly, effective control of water ∆re
– Hygiene and safe
– Education( Installation, how to use, treatment , menu
planning)
– Durability(Problem free, adequate warranty, easy to repair)

12. Type
Hubbard
Tank
Contrast
bath
Whirlpool
bath

13. • Treatment involves both hot and cold therapy on same
body part.
• Causes sensory stimulation due to activation of both
cutaneous hot and cold receptor
• Helps to modulate pain, decrease local edema and
increase circulation
– For pain relief, start and end with hot water
– For edema, start and end with cold water
• Method of application
• Indications:
– Post traumatic swelling, pain due to swelling, chronic
inflammation
• Contraindications
– Advanced vascular disease, arterial insufficiency, diabetes
mellitus

15. • A tank that contains water with a turbine to produce
movement of water through agitation, making it easier
to assist or resist the movement.
• Types:
– Extremity Tank
– Lowboy Tank
– Highboy Tank
• Method of application
• Uses:
– Open wounds, pain relief, mobilize stiff joints of
extremities
• Advantages and disadvantages.

18. • Specially designed full immersion tank and mainly for
patients who are unable to stand.
• Mainly designed for underwater exercises
– Has jets for hydrotherapy massage
– Support bars for doing exercise
• Wide top and bottom, narrow middle which allow room
for exercises for the extremities and PT assist the
patients
• Patients are usually lowered on a stretcher by an over
head hydraulic hoist.
• Equipped with 2 turbines that can be moved around the
perimeter.

20. • Client showers before the hydrotherapy treatment.
• Protection from slippery surfaces.
– One precaution, use anti-slip mats
– Whenever possible, assist the patient
• SCALD protection
– A feature that prevents ∆re from becoming too hot.
• Pressure balancing
– Feature that prevents fluctuation in water pressure
when water is used elsewhere.

21. • Cleaning
• Disinfection
• Drying hydrotherapy equipment and room
surface

22. • Keep it clean and polished, avoid abrasive
cleaner/ stainless still causing tiny grooves in
which Staphylococcus can grow.
• Wipe of the benches and clean the floor
• Drain the tank at the end of the day after
cleaning the turbine shaft

23. • Holistic Pain relief: How to ease muscles, joints and other
painful conditions: Leon Chaitou(pg 91)
• Hydrotherapy for health and wellness, theory programs and
treatment: Richard Edison(pg 133,164,210)
• Physiotherapy in medical conditions: Suraj Kumar and Anoop
Aggarwal(pg118)
• Introduction to physical therapy, 3rd edition: Michael A.
Pagliarulo(pg 206)
• Pedretti’s occupational therapy(Practice skill for physical
dysfunction) 6th edition(pg 1066)
• Physical therapy for children: Suzann K. Camphill, Darl W.
Vander Linden, Robert J. Palisano(pg 1028)

24. • Therapeutic Modalities in Rehabilitation, 3rd edition: William
E. Prentice(pg 29)
• Therapeutic modalities (the art and science): Kenneth L.
Knight, David O. Draper(pg 202)
• Tidy’s physiotherapy, 14th edition, South Asia Edition: Stuart
Porter(pg 445)
• Natural spa and Hydrotherapy(theory and practice): An L.
Michina, Sandra R Anderson(pg 78)
• Electrotherapy simplified(pg 271): Basanta Kumar Nanda