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hydrotherapy
(hi″dro-ther´ә-pe)
the external use of water in treatment of disease and injury. Water has important physical properties related to heat conduction, buoyancy, and cleansing action; thus it is an ideal agent for applications of heat and cold to obtain desired physiological effects,
for débridement of wounds that are extensive and not easily cleansed otherwise, and for programs of therapeutic exercise. adj., hydrotherapeu´tic., adj.
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