There are a few research studies that have shown the benefits of Hydrotherapy, or what most of us call soaking in hot water, sometimes with minerals added. Most fibromyalgia patients do find that heat helps temporarily relieve their aches and pains.
How can you take advantage of this without spending a fortune? If you have a working bathtub, you can get some great benefits from soaking. Here are a few tips:
Get an inexpensive plastic bathmat with suction cups for the bottom of the tub; this will make it much more comfortable to lie on your back.
Get an inexpensive plastic bath pillow with suction cups for the bottom of the tub.
Use a washcloth under your rear end to keep from sliding around while you are lying down in the tub.
If you want to lie down so that your neck and shoulders are in the hot water, you will not be able to fill the tub up to the point that it covers your stomach. Fill the tub to the point where you can just barely feel your upper body lifting a tiny bit off the bottom of the tub, but so that your hips are securely on the bottom of the tub and your head is able to relax on the bath pillow.
Use a hand towel soaked in hot water to keep your chest and stomach warm (the water will not cover you up this far if you are actually lying down with your head in the tub).
If you have a little extra money, buy a small space heater, the kind that is oil filled and is safe for using in a bathroom. This will heat up a small bathroom quite quickly, and make you feel a lot more comfortable getting in and out of the tub.
Dry off quickly, and put on lotion, mineral oil, or sesame oil; soaking in hot water will be tend to dry your skin out.
You can buy Epsom salts pretty cheaply at the grocery store. Adding these to the water will help relieve bruises and aching muscles.