From the moment you immerse yourself in the soothing warmth of your hot tub, your body begins to experience subtle but powerful changes that can make a big difference in your health. At Wind River Spas in Denver, CO, we are interested in more than just providing a relaxing spa experience for our customers. We also want to promote health through the benefits of hydrotherapy. When the warm water of your hot tub surrounds you, your blood circulation can improve, your muscles start to relax, and your stress can melt away. Hot tubs can be an important part of your wellness routine.
What Is Hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy is the use of water to promote health and relieve discomfort. In a hot tub, this involves a combination of heat, buoyancy, and the massage from the jets to create a therapeutic experience. When you get the perfect balance of the right temperature and the pressure from the jets, you can experience immediate benefits like reduced tension, plus more long-term health benefits with regular soaking.
The Immediate Effects of Hot Water on Your Body
When you first step into your hot tub, you can immediately feel your body begin to relax. The hydrostatic pressure created by the water evenly surrounds your body and provides a gentle compression that reduces swelling and improves blood flow. This will be combined with the sensation of weightlessness from the buoyancy of the water. This takes pressure off your joints and muscles and gives you greater relaxation and mobility. At the same time, the warmth of the water causes your heart rate to increase slightly, stimulating better blood circulation. This immediately boosts the oxygen delivered to your muscles and helps remove toxins.
Why Hot Tubs Offer Benefits Beyond Baths and Pools
Can you get the same benefits from running a hot bath or going to the pool? While baths and pools can help soothe sore muscles or allow for low-impact movement to help with sore joints, hot tubs offer unique benefits. Spas can maintain a consistent, elevated temperature over a prolonged period. When the blood that is carried to the surface of the body is warmed instead of cooled, the warm temperatures can be carried deeper into the body. The longer you stay in the hot tub (up to 20 minutes), the more the benefits can be seen.
Sustained heat is important for heat therapy because it allows your body to fully relax. As your body gradually adjusts to these consistently higher temperatures, your blood vessels dilate and prompt the benefits of improved circulation and detoxification.
The strategically placed jets in a hot tub are also unique to this type of therapy. They are made to target sore and tense muscles and give your body a deeper level of relaxation that you can’t get from a simple soak in your bath.
How Hot Tubs Offer Muscle Relaxation and Pain Relief
Hot tubs provide deep muscle relaxation as the heat from the water penetrates the muscle tissues. This type of heat encourages tight muscles to loosen, reduces tension, and promotes relaxation. As your muscles start to warm up during water therapy, the blood flow increases which helps flush out the lactic acid and metabolic waste that can cause soreness after a workout. The light pressure of the jets helps to clear out this waste even more effectively.
Hot tubs also offer short-term, non-medicated pain relief by depressing the central nervous system. The heat from the water can help reduce pain signals and make you feel more comfortable by lowering the perception of pain in your joints and muscles. Heat therapy can soothe conditions like arthritis or chronic muscle pain.
Remember: If you have a recent injury that involves swelling or broken skin, the best treatment may be an ice pack and elevation rather than heat therapy. Be sure to contact your doctor to find out which is best for you.
Promoting Healing Through Jet Action
During hydrotherapy, the warm water and jet pressure stimulate your skin and underlying tissues. Blood vessels dilate and oxygen-rich blood can reach muscle fibers more effectively. Increased oxygenation helps repair damaged tissues which can make recovery from injury faster.
Hot tubs can also promote healing by stimulating your immune system. The heat and pressure boost the production of white blood cells and antibodies which your body needs to fight off infections and repair tissues. Hydrotherapy can also help your body to destroy harmful cells and stimulate new tissue. A soak a day can keep your body stronger and more resilient.
Cleansing and Detoxification
Heat therapy activates one of your body’s natural detox mechanisms: sweating. As your body heats up, it increases its sweat production which helps flush out toxins and impurities. The warm water opens up your pores and allows toxins to escape more easily. This process helps cleanse the skin and eliminates waste products like salts, alcohol, and metabolic byproducts that have accumulated in the body.
Important Note About Hot Tub Type: Because hot water opens up your pores, it is important to not introduce even more toxins into your body while your pores are more vulnerable. With traditional hot tubs, you are soaking in toxic chemicals that can cause health problems and undo all of the benefits of hot water therapy. It is important to use tubs that offer a chemical-free soak such as those at Wind River Spas. With our ozone-treated water, you get all of the benefits of hydrotherapy without the downsides of soaking in chlorine.
Hot Tubs and Muscle Priming for Gentle Exercise
The warmth of the hot tub creates the perfect conditions for gentle exercises because it increases flexibility and range of motion. Hot tubs are the perfect environment for those with mobility issues or joint discomfort, allowing them to still get in their stretches and exercises without further injury. Whether through simple leg lifts, arm movements, or gentle twists, hydrotherapy allows you to engage your muscles without the extra stress on your body.
The Connection Between Hot Tubs and Better Sleep
Your body’s temperature naturally fluctuates through the day which is part of its process of regulating sleep cycles. In the evening, your body temperature begins to drop which signals that it is time to go to sleep. Hydrotherapy in water temperatures of about 103°F two hours before bed can help. After temporarily raising your body’s temperature, you will step out of the hot water. Your body begins cooling down which can help mimic the natural process that prepares you for sleep and triggers feelings of drowsiness. The hot water can also help to reduce stress and soothe your muscles. This helps to prevent the racing mind that can keep you awake and reduce any physical discomfort that can keep you tossing and turning.
Health Precautions and Responsible Use
While water therapy offers many health benefits, it’s important to be mindful of how long you soak in a hot tub to avoid overheating. The recommended duration is typically around 15 to 20 minutes. Staying in longer can cause your core body temperature to rise too much, potentially leading to dizziness, dehydration, or discomfort.
If you have any pre-existing medical conditions or concerns about soaking in a hot tub, be sure to talk to your doctor. If you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, or if you are pregnant, soaking in hot water may not be safe for you. Water therapy can put additional stress on the cardiovascular system, so always seek medical advice if you have concerns.
Combining Hot Water Therapy With the Benefits of a Cold Plunge
If you want to get even more benefits from your hot tub, you can try hot and cold therapy. By alternating between hot water and cold water immersion, you can increase blood flow, reduce inflammation even more, and boost your metabolism. The shift between heat and cold dilates and constricts your blood vessels to increase blood flow even more. This type of strategy is called “contrast therapy”, and we have two new tubs to make this easy for you. Our Contrast8 tub offers two tubs in one. One side offers hot temperatures up to 104°F while the other drops the temperature down to a chilling 39°F. Our PLUNGE+ Hot/Cold tub gives you the option of hot and cold therapy allowing you to adjust the temperature based on your needs or the season.
Experience the Benefits of Hot Water Therapy with Our Hot Tubs
At Wind River Spas, we are invested in your health and well-being. This is why we have designed tubs that offer a chemical-free soak with the benefits of soothing jets, health-boosting hot water therapy, and the additional benefits of cold water therapy. Hydrotherapy may be what you are missing in your routine to improve your health, soothe tired muscles, and increase recovery. If you want to learn more about how our hot tubs can help, contact us today at (303) 789-2656 or fill out an online form.