Hydrotherapy is treatment using water to relieve pain or help wounds heal. Swimming pools, whirlpools and Hubbard tanks (tanks that allow patients to immerse their entire body in water) are all used to perform hydrotherapy. Benefits of hydrotherapy may include:

• Decreased pain and stiffness
• Increased muscle relaxation
• Greater ease when performing exercises and daily activities
• Increased healing

Hydrotherapy is often used in arthritis patients to help them exercise joints. The buoyancy of the water counteracts the effects of gravity, allowing patients to exercise with less stress on their joints. Exercise is important for patients with arthritis, because it helps them to retain their maximal range of motion and strength in joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles.

Hydrotherapy is also used to reduce the pain that some patients feel. The water may be heated or cooled to relieve painful acute or chronic conditions such as back pain, neck pain, other joint pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia or spasticity following spinal cord injuries. It can help maintain joint mobility in diseases that restrict range of motion, such as muscular dystrophy.

Physical therapists and other health professionals use hydrotherapy to help wounds heal. Whirlpool treatments assist in debridement (removal of dead tissue and foreign matter).

Though hydrotherapy is beneficial to treating many conditions, there are conditions and situations where it is not advised. For example, people with open wounds may be referred to whirlpool therapy for wound care, but instructed not to use swimming pools. Patients should always consult with their physician before beginning any hydrotherapy treatment plan.

Holistic and alternative health facilities and spas promote many forms of hydrotherapy, such as damp body wraps and facial douches. Such techniques are sometimes advertised as complementary and alternative treatments for everything from varicose veins to migraines, often without scientific backing. Colon hydrotherapy (also known as a high colonic, high enema or colonic irrigation) has been marketed as a treatment for many conditions. However, organizations such as the American Cancer Society caution that colon hydrotherapy is not supported by scientific evidence and can pose dangers such as spreading infections.