Is Aquatic Therapy the New State of the Art Therapy for Rehab?

Rehabilitation experts are always on the lookout for the newest and best state of the art therapy to help patients recover. People in the know are touting the amazing benefits of aquatic therapy, and it may be coming to facilities across the U.S.

What is aquatic therapy?

Aquatic therapy is the use of a water-based environment for doing therapeutic activities that promote rehabilitation. Since it is so specific, it can only be done with expertly trained and licensed professionals. Standard physical therapy is usually done in the water, but the water provides many benefits that the patient can’t make use of on land.

The benefits of aquatic therapy:

  • Working in water provides a more rigorous workout. The density of the water makes it more challenging to do physical work, and the patient must work harder to achieve results.
  • At the same time, the buoyancy of the environment allows the patient to do the exercise without any pain. On land, patients have to fight against gravity and their weight to do exercise, while they don’t have to do that in the free-floating of the water.

Who is it best for?

Aquatic therapy won’t work for people who have limited use of their limbs. What it is good for are people who have chronic pain and find it difficult to exercise because of the pain. It’s great for orthopedic patients who are before or after surgery, or patients who don’t need surgery but need to regain their strength. These people have often given up on exercise and getting into shape because it’s too painful. This gives them the optimal environment to finally tackle their physical problems.

How is it done?

The therapy must be done in a highly specialized pool that’s set up specifically for aquatic therapy. Everything must be super clean and in perfect shape, as well as monitored to keep it that way.

A physical therapist trained in aquatic therapy works one-on-one with the patient, giving him the skills he needs to perform the exercises.

A state of the art therapy for the future

Some people stop their rehabilitative efforts when the going gets too tough. If these people don’t have life-threatening illnesses, they decide that they can manage with their distress because the rehabilitation is even more painful.

With the option of this new therapy, more people will be able to continue their programs and achieve a higher rate of success.

New studies need to be conducted to see if aquatic therapy can help other patients besides orthopedic patients as well. Evidence indicates that it’s an excellent therapy for cardiac patients, as blood volume increases in the water and the vascular system expands. The heart also works harder, making it a more challenging program.

Pulmonary patients might benefit from the program as well, but breathing becomes harder as the chest is immersed in the pool, so patients need to go only until the waist until they become stronger.

Hudson View Center for Rehabilitation is committed to bringing our patients any state of the art therapy that can help improve their recovery and achieve success.

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