Hydrotherapy History

According to legend, Pegasus the winged horse was fathered by Poseidon, God of the Oceans, and mothered by Medusa - yes, the one with all the snakes in her hair! As an immortal, he inspired all who rode him to achieve great deeds. Probably as a legacy of his father's genes, Pegasus was credited with leaving a well of water wherever he galloped.

WATER was a vital source to ancient civilizations for cleanliness, relaxation and general good health. As early as the 5th century BC, the Greek physician Hippocrates recommended natural spring water for its curative effects and the Romans developed and raised spas to an art form. Their public bathing areas became centers of civic and social life and their understanding of the benefits of hydrotherapy led to the establishment of spa centers throughout the Roman Empire. Many a heated argument was probably tempered in this soothing environment.

THE REVITALIZING QUALITIES of the hot springs in bath were known well before the Roman Occupation and yet most British spa towns developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, when they represented the good life and attracted the social 'glitterati' of the day. To be fashionable, one would announce the intention of 'taking the waters, and those who could not afford such luxury were not part of the in-crowd.

AS TREATMENTS and techniques have evolved, so has the accessibility of hydrotherapy. We are now aware that quality of life and life balancing are equally important to well-being as exercise, healthy diet and relaxation. So where, traditionally, hydrotherapy consisted of baths, saunas and compresses, it is now more readily provided - in our own homes - via whirlpool and water jets.