Middle Ages: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs


History of Hydrotherapy Earliest Use of the Hot Tub Introduction to Modern Hydrotherapy Understanding the properties and characteristics of water Archimedes Principle Bougier's Theorem Bernoulli's Theorem Reynolds' Theorem Prantiti's Theorem Fronde-zahm's Experiments Pascal's Law Development of the human being against gravity: Bronze Age: Use of Hot Tubs, Spas and Saunas Bronze Age: Use of Hot tubs and Spas in the Mediterranean Bronze Age: Use of Hot Tubs, Saunas and Spas in Asia Classical Period: Use of Hot Tubs, Spas and Saunas Early Asian Baths Classical Period: Evolution of Asian Hot Tub Construction Classical Period: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs in the Middle East Classical Period: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs in Meso-America In Depth: Roman Hot Tub and Spa Construction During the Classical Period The Baths of Caracalla Construction of the Baths at Caracalla: Basic Design Construction of the Baths at Caracalla: Materials Construction of the Baths: Metals Classical Period: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs in Scandinavia The origin of sauna Middle Ages Middle Ages: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs Middle Ages: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs in Scandinavia Middle Ages: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs in Japan Middle Ages: Hot Tub Culture Middle Ages: Hot tub and Spa Culture in Asia Middle Ages: Hot tub and Spa Culture in Scandinavia Renaissance Period Renaissance Period: Use of Hot Tubs, Spas and Saunas Renaissance Period: Use of Hot Tubs, Spas and Saunas in France Renaissance Period: Hot tub and Spa Culture in Asia Industrial Age Industrial Age: American Use of Hot Tubs, Spas and Saunas Modern Age Modern Hot Tubs, Spas and Saunas Modern Hot Tub, Spa and Sauna Culture: Asia Modern Sauna Culture in Scandanavia Conclusion Sources Health & Beauty Benefits of Exercise in Water Application and Benefits of Hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy in Neuropatients Hydrotherapy for the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases Hydrotherapy for the Treatment of Inflammatory Arthritis Muscle Weakness - Strength Training Poor Balance Poor Posture Decreased Cardiovascular Fitness Progressive Hydrotherapy Exercise Hydrotherapy gait reeducation treatment plan Wrist and Hand Joints Pelvis Knee reconstruction Cervical Spine Injury Lumbar Spine Injury Spinal Fractures Disc Pathology Musculo-Tendinous Injuries Hydrotherapy in the Rehabilitation of Lower Limb Stress Fractures Hydrotherapy for Treatment of the Lumbopelvic Complex Chronic pain - Pain and Muscle Spasm Oedema Decreased range of movement Head Injury Epilepsy Burns Pediatric Hydrotherapy Head control Breathing control Relaxation through Hydrotherapy Juvenile Chronic Arthritis Hydrotherapy for the Clumsy Child Conclusion		Middle Ages: Use of Spas, Saunas and Hot Tubs While some research affirms that public baths became obsolete in the Renaissance and did not return until the 19th-century, other sources assure us that they continued to function in Central and Western Europe. In the English city of Bath, famous for its medicinal waters, the Romans built a spa that was still functioning in high regard throughout the 17th- and 18th centuries. These public buildings helped promote the necessity of hygiene, something to which little attention was given. In some cases, bathing was deemed a necessary ritual no more than once a year. During the Middle Ages, bathing of the whole body was an activity restricted to the more moneyed families. The poverty of the medieval age one was such that it lacked adequate places for the practice of hygiene. Pitchers and sponges were used to clean the body. Over time, more simplistic cleansing implements such as brushes and steel buckets came into practice. Later, the domestic apparatus of the bourgeois homes was gradually modernized, yet the majority of bourgeois domiciles possessed neither the space nor the infrastructure adequate for equipping a room with a permanent hot tub. Hygiene was thus consigned to portable inventions. Gradually, the upper classes began to promote the need for hygiene among the lower classes. Still, the task was not an easy one, given that soap was a luxury product beyond the means of many families. The use of soap also increased, albeit slowly. The process was slower in rural areas. Medieval bathhouses had plain round or oval wooden tubs made of oak or walnut. The shape of the medieval bath was not unlike the average modern hot tub but was built in this way to allow several people to bathe at once rather than for personal relaxation. Hot water was scarce so whole families and their guests would bathe together or at least in quick succession. There are many pictures extant showing communal hot tubs, some with a tray across the top holding food, and there seem to have been neither inhibitions about bathing with the opposite sex nor any feelings of encroachment on privacy.