Galvanic Bath

A galvanic bath is an alternative medical treatment combining water immersion with electrical stimulation, in which a patient lies in a bath of about 34 degrees Celsius while a gentle electric current is passed through the body for around fifteen minutes. A four-chambered variant instead placed the patient forearms and lower legs in separate water trays carrying the current, purportedly to improve circulation and relieve discomfort, particularly in rheumatoid arthritis. Practitioners used galvanic baths mainly for degenerative and inflammatory joint disorders; physician Jennie Kidd Trout was a central advocate of the treatment, establishing the Therapeutic and Electrical Institute in Toronto, with branch locations in Hamilton and Brantford, Ontario, that also provided free treatment to underserved patients. No contemporary scientific studies have examined the physiological effects of galvanic baths, and the treatment remains unvalidated by modern research.