Leawood, Kansas-based Integrity Spas has become known as a premier online retailer of luxury, custom-built spas. Integrity Spas provides a full line of luxurious portable spas that have been designed harnessing the expertise of medical and orthopedic professionals as well as engineers who understand the unique function and design of hydrotherapy tubs. In this brief Q&A, Integrity Spas answers questions about the positive health benefits of owning a spa.

Q. First of all, is a spa the same thing as a hot tub?

Integrity Spas: Technically, the word has several definitions including a resort with natural mineral springs. It also means hot tub, but Integrity Spas products are so much more than that, we feel good about calling them spas.

Q. What kind of health benefits do spas like Integrity Spas provide?

Integrity Spas: Hot tubs are not just for socialization. Hot tubs such as those Integrity Spas manufactures provide a much needed hydrotherapeutic massage, which has been proven to aid in stress reduction, relaxation, sleep disorders, and back and muscle pain injuries, and can actually address disease.

Q. What is hydrotherapeutic massage?

Integrity Spas: Simply put, hydrotherapy, or water therapy, is the use of water (hot, cold, steam or ice) to relieve discomfort and promote physical well-being. It has a long history going back to ancient times. In recent years, hot tub technology like what we’ve developed at Integrity Spas has been really refined to maximize its therapeutic benefits.

Q. Can you give some examples?

Integrity Spas: A study conducted by Applied Human Science’s Journal of Physiological Anthropology concluded that hot baths before bed significantly accelerated the onset of sleep and increased the ability to stay asleep longer. Also, according to the IHTA trade organization, people are finding great success in dealing with stress-related anxiety through hydrotherapy and report improvement in spine mobility, functional scores and a reduction in the daily duration of pain.

Q. It seems obvious that hot water would help with muscle pain.

Integrity Spas: Yes, it does help, as the presence of hot tubs in most athletic facilities demonstrates. Strength, endurance and mobility exercises in hot moving water decrease joint loading, and the possible increase in circulation provided relieves chronic pain and functional difficulties.

Q. You mentioned circulation. Is there a cardiovascular benefit associated with hydrotherapy in Integrity Spas?

Integrity Spas: Definitely. The American Heart Journal has reported that a home-based thermal hydrotherapy program in a unit like Integrity Spas manufactures improves cardiac failure symptoms and heart rate response to exercise in patients with mild chronic heart failure. The Mayo Clinic states that spending time in a hot tub may actually be less stressful to the heart than getting on an exercise bike. They conclude that a heart patient whose doctor has recommended exercise should have no trouble in a hot tub such as those made by Integrity Spas.

Q. Are any other diseases positively affected by spending time in a spa?

Integrity Spas: The New England Journal of Medicine reports that hot tub therapy helped a group of patients with type 2 diabetes reduce blood sugars, lose weight and improve sleep patterns. Likewise, patients with hypertension can benefit from hot tubs built by Integrity Spas. The Canadian Medical Association has reported that a 10-minute dip in a hot spa reduces blood pressure in patients with treated hypertension.  Integrity Spas is proud to be able to make products that really help people.