Chronic Pain and Hot Tubs, Do They Really Help?

Chronic pain and hot tubs, do they really help? Do they ease pain? Will this make my days more tolerable? I Googled so much whilst considering buying a hot tub. At first I just wanted to buy one of those inflatable hot tubs, I had no intention on spending more than a couple hundred on one. That was until I started looking into it more, if I bought an inflatable one, I’d be sitting on the floor. How was that going to help? So, I started researching about hot tub companies and how much it would cost to get an actual full sized tub. An eye-watering amount. No one was convinced but after weeks on end of searching, I found one company (Hot Tub Superstore) that offers 0% finance and the monthly costs were something I could happily afford. The stars aligned and it was meant to be.

I knew my dad wouldn’t get a move on until it was actually ordered, so I went ahead and booked in a date for them to come and install it. I wasn’t waiting around! It was a busy time of year with it being Summer so we had a 4 week wait, but during that time we got the garden ready. A hot tub needs to go on a solid, level base like concrete. Alfie, Dad, and my brother started to dig up my dad’s once perfect grass. In the past it’s been that perfect that it almost looked like fake grass. It’s not easy prepping for a hot tub, it takes a lot of hard work and manual labour. When the hot tub finally arrived there was a small panic that it wouldn’t actually fit through the access ways onto the garden, but the delivery men did not come to play! They hulked it up our neighbours path and across their garden! You have to have an abled person home in case they need help, they do give you plenty of warning about this. Within hours it was heating up and the next morning we’d be able to enjoy the heat.

I was surprised at how sturdy the steps are, I thought I would struggle getting in and out more. Although I do need watching, I’ve mostly been fine! Obviously if I’m flaring up really badly, I can’t go in, but if I’m just in my usual annoying level of pain then I’m safe. You can obviously get sturdier stairs, even some with a hand rail but they do cost a lot. Once you’re in the hot tub, you can turn the jets onto your chair easily. You can control the pressure of each individual jet and turn it up or down depending on how you’d like it. Personally, I have all the other chairs turned off and mine on full power!

The top heat is 40 degrees which really helps to ease your muscles, although I could definitely do a little hotter. The hydrotherapy jets are amazing at massaging you and can really help ease off tight knots and achy pains. My dad goes in the hot tub all the time and he always says how much better he feels. I would definitely recommend to buy one with as many jets as you can afford, we ended up with The Hurricane which has 42 jets! I’m not going to lie, if I ever buy one again I’ll be looking for one with more jets as they really are the best and what give you the real spa experience.

For my mum and I, our pain is a lot more intense and not a lot helps. The hot tub alone doesn’t help my pain, but with a combination (which I have a post on here) of light stretches, water, vitamins, meditation, and mindfullness, it definitely helps me feel brighter. Probably the main thing the hot tub helps with is relaxing and switching off. We’ll go in anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour (with water and breaks from the jets) which means we don’t go on our phones during those times or look at screens. It’s great for catching up with people, talking to your family more, and for hanging out with a drink too. We also do a lot of star watching and guessing the constellations.

Overall I would definitely say a hot tub can help with chronic pain, but don’t expect miracles.