Why aquatic therapy?
Karin Biskovich, MPT
April 28, 2017
Water has a long history of use for medical ailments and to promote healing. In the early 1900s, the first pools were used to perform rehabilitation exercises for patients with cerebral palsy and spasticity. Eventually the use of water therapy included many types of diagnoses and diseases to help restore range of movement and improve muscle function. Water is a very safe environment to work with a patient and often a place one can maximize a therapy session.
A patient who submerges their body to their belly button has reduced their body weight by 50%. Decreasing the load on a joint can allow for increase ability to perform range of motion and strengthening exercises. This can be very valuable in the rehab of a joint or injury that has a weight bearing restriction for an extended period of time. Alternatively if one has increased pain with compression of a joint then getting in the pool could allow for increased tolerance to an exercise program.
Another benefit to therapy in the pool is increased blood flow. It is shown in research that there is a greater increase of muscle blood flow following exercise in water versus on land. Increasing blood flow to a muscle aids with healing and allows a more effective exercise session.
In 2002, a research group looked at the neuromuscular performance and muscle mass of healthy women after a 10 week aquatic program. They found a significant gain in the strength of the quads and hamstrings muscles in the women who performed the aquatic program.
Aquatic therapy can be a component of the rehabilitation process and can be be valuable as an addition to the land-based program. Call our office located in the Executive Health Club at 603-782-3090 see if aquatic therapy could help you. You don’t need a physical referral to give it a try!