The hydrotherapy (Greek , idro, "water ", of old Greek , , "water "and , , "the therapy ") is the methodical use from water to the treatment of acute or chronic complaints, stabilization of the bodily functions "), for the Vorbeugung, rehablitation and regeneration. To a large extent the temperature attraction of the water, less the pressure or the lift than therapeutic attraction are used.

Water in all three states of aggregation is used

• Ice
• cold/water kept at a moderate temperature/warm
• Steam

Application forms

• Washing
• Wind, editions and Kompressen, packings
• Castings
• Baths (part and full baths) with and without additives
• Sauna,

Working methods

• Water-step: the patients durchstapfen a basin with kneel-high, cold water.
• Kneipp castings or flat castings: with low pressure a water jet aims at arms, leg, back, face or the whole body of the standing patient.
• Pressure jet castings or lightning castings: a water jet is directed with medium or strong pressure (up to 3 bar) toward the body.
• Wind and packings: on a damp interior cloth, which covers either only individual body places or more than 50% of the body surface, with a dry interior and external cloth one covers.
• Abrasions: a damp cloth is put on the part of the body concerned and abraded with the hand, in order to energize the blood circulation.
• Movement bath: with spinal column illnesses or german types in the water gymnastische exercises, sometimes in combination with Unterwassermassagen, are accomplished.

• Baths: one differentiates between partial baths, with which arms and legs are exposed to cold and/or hot water, and brush baths, with which the patient with brushes is massed, or which Stangerbad, with which the water in the tub leads galvanic river. The gentle current attraction works schmerzlindernd and blood circulation-promoting.
• Steams: the patients are exposed to hot water vapour, which is transferred with herbs possibly, also in Saunen or Turkish (Hammam).

Historical

Water treatments are already for thousands of years a component of the bath culture. Thus the Greeks already believed that the water possessed welfare strength. Also the Romans built public baths, which developed to recovery and society centers of the cities (= forerunner of the today's health resorts). As a father of the hydrotherapy the Roman honour citizen Antonius Musa is regarded, to that allegedly 23 v. Chr. the emperor Augustus with cold baths to have healed is. In 15. Century the call of the hydrotherapy damaged, because one believed, water transfer infections. Only in 18. Century became it again more popularly.

Particularly as actual founders the niederschlesischen physicians victory mouth cock (1664-1742) and its son Johann victory mouth cock (1696-1773) are considered to the "water therapy" and/or hydrotherapy in Germany, whose book of 1738 found only - 100 years later - 1849 the philosophy student at that time Sebastian Kneipp (1821-1897) in the Munich yard library and from this later its own therapy developed. Both "taps" were Stadtphysikus in Schweidnitz.Vincenz Priessnitz (1799-1851) treated its own complaints with cold Kompressen and had thereby success. It created a therapy center, in which it tried, its patients with shock methods For example it fastened it firmly on iron couches and let icy water from 6m height on it down-pour.

Minister Sebastian Kneipp used less violent methods. Also it had for the first time actually tested chilled water treatment successfully. In order to treat its Tuberkulose, it rose each day into the ice-cold Danube. It supplemented its hydraulictherapeutic measures by the Pflanzenheilkunde.

Beside the layman medical profession such as S. Kneipp and J.H. Franke towards. Rausse were it then also physicians as "water doctors" like among other things William Petri in bath leaves oh at the Rhine and Josef Schindler in and later in ith Schlesien, which let listen attentively their water cure successes.

To the crucial break-through the hydrotherapy in Germany on practical basis help Karl Friedrich Ferdinand Runge (1835-1882) in its water mental hospital in Nassau a.d. Lahn and in Austria Hungary on scientific of theoretical basis the cure physician and the nature-welfare-well-informed William Winternitz, that in Kaltenleutgeben with Vienna a water mental hospital possessed and as the first medical profession imdeutschsprachigen area in the year 1899 a chair for hydrotherapy as ordentl. Professor at the University of Vienna received.

Quotations

"It is completely unbelievable, which the castings with water are able. Thus one sees repeatedly examples of healings, which seem nearly unbelievable to some, because for such suffering otherwise no means are present. A girl was to bleed herself from the nose todt so violently run the blood the head and the nose; a garden watering can fully water on the necks and head made presently/immediately an end for the bleeding [...]. Christian has Lungenemphysem according to statement of the physicians, due to a preceeding pneumonia. Here it is nevertheless clear that with the healing much Schleim stayed, which hangs still on the internal organs glued to and can be not further brought. Everything detached six upper coats and chest castings; measures a Schleim solved itself, and the patient athmet now completely healthy. "of Sebastian Kneipp: So are you to live! Signs and for healthy ones and patient. Kempten, 1889 (4. Edition); P. 351 FF. ISBN 3881400664

See also

Balneologie, naturopathy

Literature

• Biographic encyclopedia of outstanding physicians of the nineteenth century, given change of Julius Pagel, Berlin 1901
• Biographic encyclopedia of the German-speaking medical profession, given change of Dietrich von Engelhardt, Band 2, Munich 2002
• Brauchle, Alfred: Naturopathy in life pictures, Leipzig 1937
• Helfricht, The pioneer of the nature welfare movement Vincenz Priessnitz (1799 - 1851) and the Rezeption of its hydrotherapy in the German-speaking countries until 1918. - Thesis philosophical faculty of the university Olomouc, chair for history 2004
• Helfricht, The success prescriptions of Saxonian nature-sound. - Diver publishing house Taucha 2004
• Helfricht, Friedrich Eduard Bilz (1842 1922) - old masters of the naturopathy in Saxonia. - Sinalco AG Detmold and city administration Radebeul 1992
• Martin, Alfred: German bath nature in past days, Jena 1906
• Michael, Anderson one - healing with water (2.Auflage, 1995)
• Otto, Gilbert - hydrotherapy and balneotherapy in theory and practice (11. Edition, 1990)

Articles in category "Hydrotherapy"

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