Water is an elixir and in the West and the Gulf it is medium for therapy, claimed to be giving permanent relief from pain and neuro muscular problems.

This hydrotherapy takes advantage of the buoyancy effect in water. Patients have an hour-long exercise session in warm water to improve their muscular conditions. “In water, the patient’s weight is one-fourth of what it is outside. So, it helps patients perform various exercises with ease.

Hydrotherapy can be used for all sorts of pain relief and also to treat obesity,” says Dr P Ravikumar, Founder and Director of Gain Multi – Specialty Physiotherapy Centre. It is a specialisation in physiotherapy, he adds.

However, what is important in hydrotherapy is the temperature of water. “Temperature of the pool is very important. Most of hydrotherapy centres in India use cold water for treatment, but warm water brings about a major change. The best water temperature for hydrotherapy is between 33 degree Celsius and 38 degrees,” he said.

And the best part of hydrotherapy is that it treats the cause of pain completely. “While usually in therapeutic treatments the symptoms are treated, but in hydrotherapy the cause of pain is treated and it results in permanent relief,” says the doctor. Proper therapy has also resulted in avoidance of surgery in many cases.

Five sessions of hydrotherapy is said to equal 10 sessions of normal physiotherapy, he adds. The treatment is popular in the West and the Gulf. ”I have been practising it for past 25 years in Kuwait and we usually have a month or two waiting list of patients,” he said.

Hydrotherapy also helps in treating obesity. “In hydrotherapy, the effort required to do various exercises is more so more calories are burnt,” according to Dr Ravikumar.

Muthu Kumar, who underwent hydrotherapy for his knee ligament tear, said, “I thought this will be a permanent disability and I was advised a reconstruction surgery. But, a 10-day hydrotherapy session resulted in complete cure and it has also helped me to play light sports.