Effect of Neutral Spinal Douche on Blood Pressure Among Healthy Adults : A Pilot Study.

Abstract

Blood pressure is governed largely by the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and interventions that improve autonomic balance are considered beneficial for cardiovascular regulation. Hydrotherapy, the therapeutic use of water, is widely practised in naturopathy and produces physiological effects that vary with the temperature and method of application; neutral-temperature applications are thought to promote parasympathetic dominance. Evidence on the neutral spinal douche specifically, however, remains limited, and this pilot study was therefore undertaken to evaluate its effect on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) in healthy adults and to generate preliminary evidence of its effectiveness.

Methodology: Ten healthy individuals (four men and six women; aged 18–25 years) were enrolled for the study. A neutral spinal douche (34–36°C) was administered over the spinal region for 5 min once daily in the morning for seven consecutive days. SBP and DBP were recorded before and after the intervention on each of the seven days using standardised procedures.

Results: The mean SBP fell from 115.0 ± 9.7 mmHg (Day 1, pre-intervention) to 99.1 ± 8.8 mmHg (Day 7, post-intervention), a reduction of 15.9 mmHg (paired t-test, p = 0.0002). The mean DBP decreased from 77.8 ± 5.5 mmHg to 71.3 ± 5.3 mmHg, a reduction of 6.5 mmHg (p = 0.019), with a consistent day-on-day downward trend observed for both parameters.

Conclusion: Repeated application of a neutral spinal douche was associated with a significant reduction in resting SBP and DBP in healthy adults, supporting its potential as a simple, safe, and non-invasive hydrotherapy intervention for cardiovascular health pending confirmation in larger randomised controlled trials.