Hydrotherapy and Bath
Treatments
Vichy
Massage Douche
Water
at high pressure from several hoses was poured onto
a patient lying on a concrete or wooden bench and massaged
to loosen muscles and improve circulation.
A
Vichy
treatment was often preceded by a needle shower to even
out the patient's body temperature. The patient lay
on a mattress on a wooden or concrete slab, either face
up or face down, with a hanging towel to stop the spray
hitting the face as water fell from a line of hoses
above, running the length of the body. The concrete
slab used in this treatment is in the Medical
Museum.
The
treatment used warm water at 98oF, either
ordinary, or saline, sprayed at high pressure onto the
patient to stimulate the skin, and often combined with
massage or exercises. Each treatment used up to three
hundred gallons of water.
This loosened the patient’s muscles and improved circulation.
After the treatment the patient was wrapped in warm
towels and sent to lie down in the cooling room of the
Hammam. The British Medical Association described this
as 'one of the most delightful and at the same
time effective treatments at the spa.' Alan Burges in
his book Warwickshire
remembers a Vichy
douche treatment at the Pump Rooms. 'The water was hot
and salty. It was like lying out in a hot tropical rainstorm
with the sun miraculously shining through the rain.'
There were two Vichy treatment areas at
the Pump Rooms, north and south, for men and women.
 |
| The Vichy Massage Douche
Slab (M4636.2004) |
 |
| A man being massaged under
a Vichy Douche. This wooden treatment table was
later replaced by the concrete slab now in the
Museum (M3535. 1990.28) |
Aix
Massage Douche
A patient,
seated on a chair was massaged under a stream of water
from a hosepipe aimed at a particular part of the body.
The Aix Massage combination of water jet and massage
was particularly effective in treating chronic rheumatism
or gout. In the 1950s around three thousand treatments
were given a year for spinal and joint injury, chronic
gout and rheumatic conditions, and poor health caused
by sedentary lifestyle and poor diet. The British Medical
Association described the treatment. 'After a preliminary
shower bath at 98oF to 100oF,
(36.6oC - 37.7oC) the patient
is seated on a chair and the body and limbs are massaged
under a stream of water delivered through a hose-pipe
at 98oF (36.6oC). After completion
of the massage a strong stream of water is directed
on to the patient, cooling rapidly from 98oF
to 80oF. (36.6oC - 26.6oC)'
This was then followed
by a needle shower.
This form of douche could be directly combined with
with a needle shower while being sprayed with two hoses,
one hot, one cold. This was known as an 'alternating
douche'. The individual hoses for the Aix Massage Douche
were stored on the wall next to the Vichy Douche apparatus.
 |
| A girl receiving an Aix
massage to her foot with a single hose in 1925,
the needle shower can be seen in the background.
(M3535.1990.70) |
Scotch
Douche
Two hoses,
one hot, one cold sprayed water over the patient's body.
The
Scotch Douche was based on the same principle as the
Aix Massage, with two hoses, one hot, one cold, of high
pressure water being applied to the affected area. It
was particularly used for arthritic conditions of the
arms and legs but not recommended for rheumatoid arthritis.
The
hoses produced contractions and dilations of the blood
vessels.This was intended to restore vigour, improve
general circulation, increase mobility and reduce pain.
An advantage of the
Scotch Douche was that it could easily be regulated
as to temperature, could be used by weak patients and
had a beneficial mechanical effect, along with the effect
of alternating hot and cold upon the vessels and muscles.
lombieres
Treatment A
form of colonic irrigation to treat constipation, high
blood pressure and rheumatic conditions. A patient lay
on a bed with a hole in the middle. After 'washing out'
a nurse inspected the contents of the bucket below.
This
form of colonic irrigation was first used in Leamington
in 1923, to treat chronic constipation, colonic catarrh
and colitis, rheumatic conditions, and clean out intestines
to relieve high blood pressure and rheumatic conditions.
It had first been introduced by Dr Langenhagen at Plombieres,
giving the treatment its name, and used intestinal lavage
with spa water. It was particularly suited to the Pump
Rooms as spa water was seen as particularly effective
being bland and non-irritating, but effective.'
The bath used
two in testinal 'douches' (hoses) and treatment in some
cases would be followed by an immersion bath. The patient
lay on a treatment bed with a hole in the middle and
a bucket underneath. After flushing out the colon, the
nurse was expected to inspect the contents. A qualified
nurse and a 'fully trained man' were employed to staff
the treatment suite. The Spas Federation initially described
the suite as 'a magnificent instalment for its use',
although by 1951 the British Medical Association reported
that ‘informed medical opinion no longer advises this
procedure as a therapeutic measure.' By this time two-way
colonic irrigation had replaced the Plombieres treatment
at Leamington.
 |
| Plombieres Treatment Suite
(M3535.1990.22) |
Nauheim
Bath
A
bath designed for one patient in which carbon dioxide
was passed through saline water to stimulate the skin
and improve blood circulation and pressure.
The Nauheim
treatment was one of three treatment baths at the Pump
Rooms, that could be used either still or effervescent.
It was first developed by Dr Schott at Nauheim in the
19th century and was used to treat heart problems, rheumatism,
high blood pressure and as a general tonic. It was intended
that the cold water against the skin and a high level
of salts and the gentle friction of passing carbon dioxide
through the water would stimulate the skin and bring
circulation to the surface and lower blood pressure.
A comment from a patient in 1899 in the Visitors Book
reveals the apparent success of the treatment: 'I came
here five weeks ago suffering from a greatly dilated
heart and after undergoing a course of Nauheim Baths
my heart has gone back to it normal condition and I
have derived much benefit.' In 1904 J.R. Roberts commented
that 'I came to the Pump Rooms with very painful and
swollen feet and must say the Nauheim Bath very soon
reduced the swelling and took away the pain and altogether
did me good.'
Zotofoam
Bath
An
individual hot foam bath to treat obesity by insulating
the body and raising body temperature.
The Zotofoam bath was one of the more modern treatments.
A description from 1969 explains the treatment. 'A special
gas distributor is laid in the bottom of the bath -
Hot water 103-108°F is added, just sufficient to cover
the apparatus, and an ounce of foam extract is added
to the water. Gas, which may be carbonic acid, oxygen
or compressed air, is then passed through the distributor,
and fine bubbles of hot foam are produced. The patient
is therefore covered with hot foam, which insulates
the body, preventing the usual loss of heat by radiation.
The temperature rises, and metabolic rate increased.
The patient perspires freely. This treatment was intended
to treat obesity by increasing the patient's temperature
and metabolic rate to burn up calories and aid weight
loss. By the late 1960s however it had been replaced
by steam and Turkish baths, and the space occupied by
the saline, Nauheim and Zotofoam baths was replaced
by a gym.
In 1930 the foam bath equipment was supplied
by Sandor but by 1945 this had been replaced by Zotofoam
products. Like the saline baths this treatment had two
dressing rooms to speed up the flow of patients.
 |
A woman in a zotofoam bath
(M3535.1990.54. Copyright Illustrated Magazine,
1953) |
 |
| Bottles of Zotofoam extract.
This was put into the bath and bubbled through
a rack placed in the bottom of the bath. (M3968.1993.2) |
Saline
Bath
Saline
baths were one of the earliest treatments at the Royal
Pump Rooms. Initially thought to treat scrofula, gout,
kidney and liver diseases, later baths used compressed
air to provide extra stimulation.
Saline baths
were used from the early 19th century to treat many
conditions. When it opened in 1814 the Pump Rooms housed
seventeen hot and three cold baths, with one cold bath
and two hot reserved for the poor. Bathing in saline
water was thought to be effective against gout, scrofula,
kidney, liver and stomach complaints, and 'ill humours'.
The earliest bathing was prescribed several times a
week, or even a day, in combination with regular exercise,
restricted diet and drinking large amounts of water.
They were thought to be especially effective when followed
by some sort of light massage or aeration bath. Saline
baths were soothing and relaxing. Patient testimony
from the early 20th century reports very favourably
on the beneficial effects of the waters. One woman writing
in the Visitors' Book in 1912 took much pleasure in
saying how much benefit she derived from a course of
the sulphur and saline baths which quite cured her rheumatism
from which she had suffered for months.
Later saline baths took the form of individual
baths. Baths could be still or aerated with compressed
air to provide extra stimulation. The installation of
an aeration bath was first mentioned in October 1923.
By 1958 there was a several month waiting list for aerated
saline bath treatment, held in the same treatment room
as Zotofoam and Nauheim Baths. Each saline bath had
two dressing rooms along the marble medical corridor
in the Pump Rooms so that one patient could get ready
as the previous patient was resting or changing.
 |
| Attendant with Saline Bath.
This view was from the changing room. Here a visitor
could change in privacy, and rest after bathing
(M3535.12.2) |
Slipper Baths
Slipper
baths were used by the public who did not have bathrooms
in their homes or as a treat.
Slipper baths
were more of a public service than a treatment at the
Pump Rooms. In the 1950s Leamington
inhabitants without bathrooms used to use the baths
once a week for a luxury. One woman did this for two
to three years before she met her husband and then her
in-laws allowed her to use their bath. Another woman
who worked at Lockheed's from 1940 to the end of the
war was in lodgings with no bath, so she came to the
Pump Rooms 'for our slipper baths two and three times
a week'. When The Turkish Bath closed in 1976, it was
decided to close the slipper baths as well because they
cost too much to run.
History
- later medical treatments
Hydrotherapy and Bath Treatments
Therapool Treatments and Polio
Heat and Light Treatments
Electrotherapy
Physiotherapy Treatments |
