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Swiss Shower
A Swiss Shower is one of the most invigorating treatments available and utilizes
powerful shower jets that are aimed directly at the body from various heights
to create the feeling that you are undergoing a massage. A total of sixteen
needle-spray showerheads are used in conjunction with two high-pressure scotch
hoses in this task. A therapist controls the scotch hoses and alternates between
hot and cold water, which is either fresh water or salt water, while the client
is standing. An important component of the Swiss Shower is that it rapidly changes
in temperature from 45° F to 105° F, which helps relieve sore muscles. The reason
for this effect is that the change from hot water to cold water and back again
contracts then dilates the capillaries.
Recognized as one of the most relaxing methods used in aquatic massages, the
Swiss Shower is one of the most effective instruments used in hydrotherapy.
Hydrotherapy refers to the use of water in treating disease. Used since the
time of ancient Rome, hydrotherapy contains recuperative and healing properties.
This is due: to its ability to exploit the body’s reaction to hot and cold stimuli,
by its protracted application of heat, and by the pressure its use of water
exerts and the sensation that comes from that pressure.
One of the fundamental principles of hydrotherapy and Swiss Shower is the understanding
of how the human body reacts to hot and cold stimuli. Hot stimuli produce a
soothing effect on the body allowing for the slowing down of the activity of
the body’s internal organs. Cold stimuli, on the other hand, produce the opposite
effect. The body becomes stimulated and the activity of the body’s internal
organs increases. The use of hot and cold stimuli to produce reactions within
the body is combined with the effects that water produces on the body in a Swiss
Shower. Water, when in motion, produces a massage type feeling in the body as
it stimulates touch receptors on the skin.
By fluctuating between hot and cold water, a Swiss Shower produces a number
of health benefits that include:
- Stimulating blood circulation, which increases the function of the immune
system against diseases.
- Stimulating lymph circulation, which aids elimination of metabolic waste.
- Soothing and relaxing tight and sore muscles.
- Relieving pain and discomfort associated by such medical conditions as arthritis
and rheumatism.
- Increasing metabolism.
Individuals that currently have medical conditions that leave them vulnerable
to hot and cold stimuli should not use Swiss Shower or any other hydrotherapeutic
techniques. Approval from a health care profession should be attained before
using Swiss Shower treatment if you have the following medical conditions: diabetes,
Raynauld’s disease, multiple sclerosis, abnormally high or low blood pressure,
women who are pregnant, heart disease, pelvic inflammation, and sciatica.
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