Showers are for more than just getting clean. A shower can relieve tension, soothe pain and contribute to your general sense of well-being. Beside requiring less water than a sit-down bath, low-flow, hand-held shower heads can provide targeted massage, the Home Tips website reports. Under specific circumstances, you can even deduct the expenses of installing showers and hardware on your federal income-tax returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Vichy Shower Technique
The word "spa" actually developed from a Latin acronym: "salud por aqua" or "health by water," and spas date back to the Roman Empire and to pre-Columbian civilizations in the Western hemisphere, according to the Cancun Travel website. The Vichy shower technique is a specialized spa treatment that uses precision-directed water jets that cover the entire body. Spas often recommend Vichy shower massage for relaxation and improving circulation in the skin, according to Cancun Travel and the Skin Inc. website. Ensure that the water jets are directed for maximum body coverage, and maintain a comfortable water temperature, Skin Inc. recommends.
Provide a full medical history before undergoing Vichy shower massage treatment. Pregnant women or anyone who suffers from cardiovascular disease should avoid Vichy shower massage. If you have sensitive skin or have shaved within the past 24 hours, Vichy shower massage treatment may cause irritation, Skin Inc. warns.
Shower Massage and Pain Relief
Back labor occurs when most of the pain of a woman's labor is concentrated in the lower back, Dr. Roger Harms writes for the Mayo Clinic's website. Harms recommends aiming the water streams of a shower massage toward the lower back to relieve the pain of back labor. The Women's Health site, administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the Mayo Clinic also recommend warm showers to relieve general labor pain.
Warm showers can also provide relief from other types of pain. The Mayo Clinic recommends warm showers for migraines, while MedlinePlus, administered by the National Institutes of Health, suggests showers to relieve menstrual pain. The Massage Therapy Foundation mentions using shower massage in treatment of the elderly and for hospice care, while the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, also administered by NIH, recommends showers to relieve arthritis stiffness and pain. For pain relief, warm or hot showers with additional attention focused on the point of pain are often preferable, although NIAMS also notes that ice packs may relieve inflammation and numb sore joints. Consult with a physician to to be sure, NIAMS urges.
Shower Massage and Sex
Many women use shower massage to masturbate, Dr. Marina Benjamen writes for the Psych Central website. In fact, many achieve their first orgasms that way. Benjamen recommends aiming the water toward the outside of the pubic area to avoid getting water inside the vagina, where it could trigger a yeast infection. The Scleroderma Foundation and the American College of Rheumatology also suggest taking a warm shower to ease stiffness and limited range of motion that can make sex painful rather than pleasurable.
References
- SkinInc: Treatment How-to --- The Green Tea and Lime Leaf Body Exfoliate with Vichy Treatment
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Osteoarthritis
- MayoClinic.com: Does Back Labor Really Happen?
- Women's Health: Healthy Pregnancy --- Labor and Birth
- Psych Central: Is Using a Shower Massager Okay to Masturbate?
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