What is hydrotherapy?

Hydrotherapy involves the use of water for soothing an aching body or speeding the recovery of other muscular ailments. It combines water with air and heat to promote wellbeing. There is a long history of using water treatment, or hydrotherapy for heath issues such as muscular conditions and rheumatic diseases.

For thousands of years, people have been drawn to water that naturally springs from the earth. Bathers enjoyed natural healing properties of hot springs that emerged as geothermal pools from under the earth’s crust. Natural hot springs around the globe continue to be a popular tourist attraction and a reminder of how the ancient practise of bathing became part of our everyday. The international SPA association (ISPA) agrees that hydrotherapy has been used in European spas for a long time. Various forms have been recorded in European civilisations, including the Romans who built communal baths and the Egyptian royalty who chose to bath with flowers. Hydrotherapy was rediscovered in the 18th and 19th Century and a factor in its revival was that since it is based on a natural substance, it was relatively cheap to practice at home.

In 1943 Kenneth Jacuzzi developed rheumatic fever, which left him with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. He was almost two years old. Recognising that monthly hydrotherapy sessions at hospital eased his son’s symptoms, lead Candido Jacuzzi, the youngest of the 7 brothers, to develop a new hydrotherapy product that would give Kenneth more regular treatment at home. Little did Candido realise, that not only did the new idea help improve his son’s illness, but it also sparked a new luxury trend that would extend across the globe.

In 1954 he filed a patent for the J-300, a first submersible portable pump that could be used in a bathtub at home. The J-300 became a new commodity and hydrotherapy at home was an overnight success. Candido was issued a patent for the first whirlpool system designed for home use on 20th March 1956. From there, the Jacuzzi brothers continued to listen to their customers and in 1962 they developed the J-500 and J-600, two stand alone bathing units with exterior pump. The company launched the first ‘family spa’ in 1964 which held more people and featured wall mounted jets.

In 1969 Roy Jacuzzi, grandson of Guiseppe (4th brother in the original family) launched a new range of whirlpool baths named the Roman bath collection and from here; the growth in the new hydrotherapy industry began.