Hydrotherapy, or water therapy, is the use of water (hot, cold, steam, or ice) to relieve discomfort and promote physical wellbeing. Hydrotherapy can soothe sore or inflamed muscles and joints, rehabilitate injured limbs, lower fevers, soothe headaches, promote relaxation, treat burns and frostbite, ease labor pains, and clear up skin problems. Many bodyworkers use hydrotherapy techniques in their practice and understand the ways in which various therapeutic interventions can improve outcomes with their clients or patients. MaryBetts Sinclair is a respected American massage therapist, who as both a teacher and a practitioner knows what the therapist needs to understand in order to learn the background and application of a comprehensive range of hydrotherapy practices in order to integrate them safely and effectively into their bodywork practice. Watch MaryBetts Sinclair as she takes you on a verbal tour through the brand new edition of her book, exploring the breadth and depth of its coverage, including what is new for the second edition. and why it is the most comprehensive guide available for bodyworkers who want to incorporate water therapies into their clinical or therapeutic practice!
MaryBetts Sinclair has been a massage therapist and teacher since 1975 . She has also written three previous books and over 40 articles for bodyworkers, holistic doctors and parents. She combines her decades of hands-on experience with a background both as an Emergency Medical Technician and as a researcher. MaryBetts is interested in scientific research related to bodywork and other natural healing modalities; she believes massage therapists can combine a knowledge of hardheaded science with intuition and heartfelt compassion. She feels passionate about hydrotherapy techniques as a fantastic complement to bodywork: by working with the body's natural self-healing mechanisms they can greatly deepen the effectiveness of bodywork. Her books blend thousands of hours of meticulous research with the wisdom of a long-term massage practitioner who has taught and practised massage in many different countries and environments.
Introduction to hydrotherapy Effects of hydrotherapy Preparing to give hydrotherapy treatments Fomentations, hot packs, compresses and other local heat treatments Cold packs, compresses and ice massage: local cold applications Immersion baths Hot air baths Showers Body wraps Friction treatments Hydrotherapy self-treatments for health and wellness Hydrotherapy and massage for musculoskeletal injuries Hydrotherapy and massage for non-injury conditions Appendix A - Simple hydrotherapy record and self-treatment handouts Appendix B - Pool therapy Appendix C - Pyrotherapy (treatment of disease with artificial fever) Appendix D - Answers to review questions Index
Bruce Thompson, Physiotherapist, Thermotherapy Consultant at Atune Health Centre, Cardiff, NSW, Australia: This book is about traditional hydrotherapy, not pool therapy or aquatic therapy. And the best way to learn about traditional hydrotherapy and how to apply it is from an experienced practitioner. Tragically there are few hydrotherapy practitioners around today. This book is the next-best method of learning about hydrotherapy. MaryBetts Sinclair takes us through the history and physiology, then gives a thorough, illustrated procedure on how to apply any hydrotherapy treatment we will conceivably ever use, along with many permutations. In Chapters 12 and 13 on musculoskeletal injuries and non-injury conditions, MaryBetts gives us concise summaries of a wide range of medical conditions with the appropriate hydrotherapy treatments, and any adaptations necessary for treating each condition. In this book the author achieves the fine balance of making hydrotherapy accessible to beginners without being overly complex or simplistic. Simply put, MaryBetts shows she is a hydrotherapy practitioner with a gift teaching pragmatically and, by using numerous case histories, memorably as well. While this book is aimed at the bodyworker who already has a grasp of anatomy and physiology, I will be recommending it to my lay hydrotherapy students. It is more than a text that you learn from and then leave on the shelf. I can see myself, my students and my colleagues, using this as a reference for years to come. I encourage you to try it out. You and your clients will be rewarded generously.
