Skip to main content

Can You Benefit from Aquatic Therapy?

Written By Falling Waters Injury & Health Management Center on January 19, 2021

Aquatic TherapyAquatic therapy is a type of physical therapy designed to increase strength, mobility, and motility of the limbs and joints. It can be used for everything from managing chronic arthritis to speeding post-surgical healing and losing weight. Find out if you could benefit below.

What Is Aquatic Therapy?

Aquatic therapy is typically carried out in a temperature-regulated pool. The therapist guides the patient through various exercises, such as walking on an underwater treadmill, swimming against a current with a kickboard, and working with water weights or barbells.

Accessories like flotation rings, pool noodles, and resistance bands may also be incorporated into the session. The precise workout will depend on the patient’s unique needs.

What Are the Advantages of Hydrotherapy?

Also called aqua-therapy or hydrotherapy, this form of physical therapy has a few unique benefits:

  • Low impact: The buoyancy the human body experiences in water makes aqua therapy low-impact, minimizing stress on joints like the knees, ankles, and hips. This is ideal for overweight patients or those with conditions like arthritis, making exercise safer and less painful.
  • Natural resistance: Water’s viscosity provides natural resistance, and merely walking or swimming through a pool can be a gentle yet effective muscular and cardiovascular workout. This is, again, useful for patients who may not be ready for high-impact training.
  • Anti-inflammatory: Hydrostatic pressure can be used to produce forces perpendicular to the body and improve proprioception—the body’s ability to sense its orientation and actions in relation to the surrounding environment. This is useful in patients recovering from torn ligaments or sprained joints, injuries that decrease joint positional awareness.

Aqua therapy is frequently recommended for people recovering from musculoskeletal injuries or surgeries and can help heal everything from fractured bones to dislocated shoulders. It’s also an excellent treatment for managing chronic conditions like Arthritis.

Cutting-Edge Aquatic Therapy in Bend, Oregon

Falling Waters Injury & Health Management Center has a state-of-the-art aquatic therapy pool featuring multiple depths, massage jets, an adjustable current system, and an underwater treadmill. Their physical therapy team helps patients regain healthy and active lifestyles through tailor-made hydrotherapy plans.

The fastest way to schedule an appointment is by calling us at (541) 389-4321. You can download the intake paperwork online.


Posted In: Chiropractic Physical Therapy Aquatic Therapy