Sitting in a tub of water feels good. It's relaxing, relieves stress and helps ease muscle and joint pain. These benefits sound like common sense, but they also have a lot of scientific backing. A dealer would be wise to have at least a passing familiarity with these concepts. Following is a list of some proven benefits, and others that scientists strongly suspect are benefits, pending further research.
Cardiac
- Lowers blood pressure
- Increases cardiac volume (the amount of blood moved by the heart)
- Increases stroke volume (blood pumped each time the heart contracts)
- Increases volume of blood pumped per minute
- Improves ejection fraction (percentage of blood pumped with each beat)
- Decreases peripheral vascular resistance (blood vessels' resistance to blood flow)
Respiratory
- Increases intrathoracic blood volume (amount of blood in the chest)
- Slightly decreases thoracic size (chest size)
- Increases work of breathing
- Can work to strengthen muscles of respiration
Muscle and Bone
- Offloads bones and joints
- Increases muscle blood flow
- May increase synovial fluid production (fluid between joints)
Kidney
- Increases renal blood flow
- Alters renal hormones
- Increases renal efficiency
- Promotes sodium excretion
- Increases diurisis (production of urine)
Neurologic
- Increase brain blood flow
- Promotes relaxation
- May improve balance
- May improve sleep patterns
