You don't have to be a former hospital or rehabilitation patient to enjoy the benefits of aquatic exercise. With our wellness aquatic therapy programs, you'll enjoy activity in an environment that provides both resistance and assistance to movement.
Aquatic therapy can decrease swelling, increase circulation, improve flexibility, and even strengthen and tone muscles. And because the water helps support your weight, you can exercise without putting undue stress on your joints. It's a wonderful exercise option for people with back problems, arthritis, or joint replacements. It's beneficial for expectant mothers as well.
Here to discuss the amazing benefits of aquatic therapy is Carolyn Bradley, DPT, she is a physical therapist with Meritus Health.
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The Amazing Benefits of Aquatic Therapy
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Learn more about Carolyn Bradley, DPT
Carolyn Bradley, DPT
Carolyn Bradley, DPT earned her doctorate of physical therapy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Her special interests include manual therapy and orthopedic injuries and rehabilitation.Learn more about Carolyn Bradley, DPT
Transcription:
The Amazing Benefits of Aquatic Therapy
Melanie Cole (Host): Aquatic therapy is a form of physical therapy, but it has the unique advantage of exercising in water. You don’t have to be a rehabilitation patient to enjoy the benefits of aquatic exercise. With the Wellness Aquatic Therapy Programs at Meritus Health, you’ll enjoy the activity in an environment that provides both resistance and assistance to movement. Here to tell us about the amazing benefits of aquatic therapy, is Carolyn Bradley. She’s a Physical Therapist at Total Rehab Care at Meritus Health. Welcome to the show, Carolyn. What’s the difference between aquatic exercise and aquatic therapy?
Carolyn Bradley (Guest): Well, one of the things about aquatic therapy is you would have a Physical Therapist evaluate you much like you would for if you’re coming for land therapy to a physical therapist. You would first have an evaluation where the therapist would go through a lot of different measurements with you and talk about the current complaint that you’re dealing with, and then they would design an exercise program specifically related to the deficits that you have. Much like a land therapy treatment session, a physical therapist first has to evaluate you and come up with a treatment plan. That’s one of the differences there versus just someone going into the water and exercising – maybe doing some exercises that they like to do or have learned in the past.
Melanie: What type of injuries or patients might be good candidates for aquatic therapy? Are we looking at shoulder injuries or back injuries? What are we looking at?
Carolyn: Well, I’ll tell you, a whole range of patients really do well in the water, but one of the things that I have found is that one, patients who have a lot of different joints bothering them at once. We do see patients with -- maybe they have a back issue, a neck issue, and a shoulder issue. That can be quite a bit of different joints to be addressing all at once, but the water is really nice in that it soothes all of those joints all at the same time while you’re trying to work on mobility and strength and all of those things. A lot of times, people with multiple different issues at once.
Sometimes, people who have a pretty low endurance or are very weak do well in the water because that can actually provide a little bit of that buoyancy to help you to be able to do some exercises that might be too challenging on the land. People who have been dealing with pain for a really long time often do well with the water because it actually helps to reduce some of that muscle tightness and reduce some pain and allow you to move in a more pain-free way. Those are some examples of patients who tend to do well in the water.
Melanie: And what’s water therapy like? I mean, is the water warm? People don’t want to get into cold water, and sometimes it’s not that easy to do, and what if they can’t swim? Tell us a little bit about what it’s like.
Carolyn: Yeah, so one thing is we do keep the pool at a therapeutic temperature. Our pool is usually kept anywhere between 91 and 94 degrees. It is warm, and that’s one of the benefits. That helps reduce some of that muscle tightness and that tension that people can have. The other thing is we have some safety features in our pool. We have a chair lift, so if somebody cannot ambulate up and down the steps, we can actually accommodate that with the chairlift. We also have a lot of guard rails that people can hold onto. It has a graduated depth, anywhere from – I believe it’s like three feet or so, up to like six feet.
You don’t have to swim to be able to do aquatic therapy, which is nice. We also have some floatation devices that can help if somebody is less comfortable with the water or needs just a little bit of assist. The therapist is also in the water with you with you’re doing your aquatic sessions. If you’re coming for an aquatic session, you would be paired up with a therapist or a PTA – a PT or a PTA. They would be taking you through specific exercises – both strengthening and stretching, maybe even some hands-on techniques to help reduce some tension or to help relax the patient a little bit.
Melanie: And does aquatic therapy help to rebuild muscle memory that might be lost based on one of these injuries because maybe it forces you to move a little bit more slowly, so your brain is processing those signals?
Carolyn: Yeah, it can certainly help with motor control and that sort of thing. The water acts as a double whammy. It both supports you, but then it also is a resistance, so that can be a benefit in two different ways there. It definitely has some good strengthening effects. You can work on motor control in the water. You can work on stretching, strengthening, the general mobility of joints, so, yes.
Melanie: And what about for cardiovascular purposes? Does it add anything to that while they’re doing therapy?
Carolyn: Yeah, so a lot of times, something we do here – towards the end of the patient's’ session, we do some exercises in the deeper water that act as a more cardiovascular endurance activity. Those are often done with some flotation devices and with the therapist near you. That can be done even with patients who do not swim. You do have some guardrails there if you need it. And then we work on some different aerobic activities that help to build that cardiovascular endurance as well.
Melanie: Are there any contraindications, Carolyn, to aquatic therapy?
Carolyn: One, if a patient had any questions, the first thing would be to ask the physician if they had any reason that they didn’t want the patient in the water. Your physical therapist would also talk with you about any potential contraindications, but some of the big ones would be an open and uncovered wound, and then communicable skin rashes or illnesses. Another one might be bowel and bladder incontinence, although that’s not always something that keeps somebody out of the water. Those are some big ones there.
Melanie: That’s really important information. What do you do if somebody does have a problem with incontinence as maybe some older people that suffer from arthritis do? Is there a way that they can do aquatic therapy?
Carolyn: Yeah, so there are some options. One is there are some different types of incontinence, so depending on the type of incontinence I’ll also talk with my patients and see what are you dealing with? Is this actually going to be a problem for the water because not all kinds of incontinence are an issue? That’s one of the discussions with your physical therapist. And then, potentially, you could wear some protective gear. We do have in our policy specifically what that entails, but it would need to be a double layer of protective – perhaps an adult diaper and some clothing on top of that that would help protect against any issues in the pool.
Melanie: Is aquatic therapy beneficial for children, as well?
Carolyn: Sure, we have kids that get in, as well. We do see a little less of the younger population here, but certainly, we see some of that. Kids do well in the water too, and a lot of times that makes it fun for them.
Melanie: So, wrap it up, with your best advice, about how somebody would get involved in an aquatic therapy program with Meritus Health? What’s involved in really signing up, or getting your first diagnosis with a physical therapist, and what they can expect from the program?
Carolyn: Sure, so, first of all, as a general rule of thumb for seeing a physical therapist, if there is something that you’ve been dealing with and it’s starting to impact your daily life function, it’s time to go talk to your doctor. And you can talk to them and say, “Hey, I think I might want to see a physical therapist, what do you think?” And the doctor would then, at that point, write an order for physical therapy. Patients here do need an order for physical therapy, but then once you get that, you bring in your order, and we get you set up for an evaluation.
At the evaluation, you can talk with your therapist about maybe you like the pool, or maybe you think the pool therapy might be a good thing for you. Talk to the therapist about it, and often the therapist will have an idea if they feel like the pool is a good place for you. From that, you’ll develop a plan of care together. It’s always a collaborative effort. I talk with the patient and see what are their goals and what are they trying to get back to? And then we create exercises and a plan that’s going to get them back to doing what they want to do. That’s kind of how therapy and how getting into aquatic therapy works.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Carolyn, for being with us today. That’s great information. This is Your Health Matters with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit MeritusHealth.com, that’s MeritusHealth.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
The Amazing Benefits of Aquatic Therapy
Melanie Cole (Host): Aquatic therapy is a form of physical therapy, but it has the unique advantage of exercising in water. You don’t have to be a rehabilitation patient to enjoy the benefits of aquatic exercise. With the Wellness Aquatic Therapy Programs at Meritus Health, you’ll enjoy the activity in an environment that provides both resistance and assistance to movement. Here to tell us about the amazing benefits of aquatic therapy, is Carolyn Bradley. She’s a Physical Therapist at Total Rehab Care at Meritus Health. Welcome to the show, Carolyn. What’s the difference between aquatic exercise and aquatic therapy?
Carolyn Bradley (Guest): Well, one of the things about aquatic therapy is you would have a Physical Therapist evaluate you much like you would for if you’re coming for land therapy to a physical therapist. You would first have an evaluation where the therapist would go through a lot of different measurements with you and talk about the current complaint that you’re dealing with, and then they would design an exercise program specifically related to the deficits that you have. Much like a land therapy treatment session, a physical therapist first has to evaluate you and come up with a treatment plan. That’s one of the differences there versus just someone going into the water and exercising – maybe doing some exercises that they like to do or have learned in the past.
Melanie: What type of injuries or patients might be good candidates for aquatic therapy? Are we looking at shoulder injuries or back injuries? What are we looking at?
Carolyn: Well, I’ll tell you, a whole range of patients really do well in the water, but one of the things that I have found is that one, patients who have a lot of different joints bothering them at once. We do see patients with -- maybe they have a back issue, a neck issue, and a shoulder issue. That can be quite a bit of different joints to be addressing all at once, but the water is really nice in that it soothes all of those joints all at the same time while you’re trying to work on mobility and strength and all of those things. A lot of times, people with multiple different issues at once.
Sometimes, people who have a pretty low endurance or are very weak do well in the water because that can actually provide a little bit of that buoyancy to help you to be able to do some exercises that might be too challenging on the land. People who have been dealing with pain for a really long time often do well with the water because it actually helps to reduce some of that muscle tightness and reduce some pain and allow you to move in a more pain-free way. Those are some examples of patients who tend to do well in the water.
Melanie: And what’s water therapy like? I mean, is the water warm? People don’t want to get into cold water, and sometimes it’s not that easy to do, and what if they can’t swim? Tell us a little bit about what it’s like.
Carolyn: Yeah, so one thing is we do keep the pool at a therapeutic temperature. Our pool is usually kept anywhere between 91 and 94 degrees. It is warm, and that’s one of the benefits. That helps reduce some of that muscle tightness and that tension that people can have. The other thing is we have some safety features in our pool. We have a chair lift, so if somebody cannot ambulate up and down the steps, we can actually accommodate that with the chairlift. We also have a lot of guard rails that people can hold onto. It has a graduated depth, anywhere from – I believe it’s like three feet or so, up to like six feet.
You don’t have to swim to be able to do aquatic therapy, which is nice. We also have some floatation devices that can help if somebody is less comfortable with the water or needs just a little bit of assist. The therapist is also in the water with you with you’re doing your aquatic sessions. If you’re coming for an aquatic session, you would be paired up with a therapist or a PTA – a PT or a PTA. They would be taking you through specific exercises – both strengthening and stretching, maybe even some hands-on techniques to help reduce some tension or to help relax the patient a little bit.
Melanie: And does aquatic therapy help to rebuild muscle memory that might be lost based on one of these injuries because maybe it forces you to move a little bit more slowly, so your brain is processing those signals?
Carolyn: Yeah, it can certainly help with motor control and that sort of thing. The water acts as a double whammy. It both supports you, but then it also is a resistance, so that can be a benefit in two different ways there. It definitely has some good strengthening effects. You can work on motor control in the water. You can work on stretching, strengthening, the general mobility of joints, so, yes.
Melanie: And what about for cardiovascular purposes? Does it add anything to that while they’re doing therapy?
Carolyn: Yeah, so a lot of times, something we do here – towards the end of the patient's’ session, we do some exercises in the deeper water that act as a more cardiovascular endurance activity. Those are often done with some flotation devices and with the therapist near you. That can be done even with patients who do not swim. You do have some guardrails there if you need it. And then we work on some different aerobic activities that help to build that cardiovascular endurance as well.
Melanie: Are there any contraindications, Carolyn, to aquatic therapy?
Carolyn: One, if a patient had any questions, the first thing would be to ask the physician if they had any reason that they didn’t want the patient in the water. Your physical therapist would also talk with you about any potential contraindications, but some of the big ones would be an open and uncovered wound, and then communicable skin rashes or illnesses. Another one might be bowel and bladder incontinence, although that’s not always something that keeps somebody out of the water. Those are some big ones there.
Melanie: That’s really important information. What do you do if somebody does have a problem with incontinence as maybe some older people that suffer from arthritis do? Is there a way that they can do aquatic therapy?
Carolyn: Yeah, so there are some options. One is there are some different types of incontinence, so depending on the type of incontinence I’ll also talk with my patients and see what are you dealing with? Is this actually going to be a problem for the water because not all kinds of incontinence are an issue? That’s one of the discussions with your physical therapist. And then, potentially, you could wear some protective gear. We do have in our policy specifically what that entails, but it would need to be a double layer of protective – perhaps an adult diaper and some clothing on top of that that would help protect against any issues in the pool.
Melanie: Is aquatic therapy beneficial for children, as well?
Carolyn: Sure, we have kids that get in, as well. We do see a little less of the younger population here, but certainly, we see some of that. Kids do well in the water too, and a lot of times that makes it fun for them.
Melanie: So, wrap it up, with your best advice, about how somebody would get involved in an aquatic therapy program with Meritus Health? What’s involved in really signing up, or getting your first diagnosis with a physical therapist, and what they can expect from the program?
Carolyn: Sure, so, first of all, as a general rule of thumb for seeing a physical therapist, if there is something that you’ve been dealing with and it’s starting to impact your daily life function, it’s time to go talk to your doctor. And you can talk to them and say, “Hey, I think I might want to see a physical therapist, what do you think?” And the doctor would then, at that point, write an order for physical therapy. Patients here do need an order for physical therapy, but then once you get that, you bring in your order, and we get you set up for an evaluation.
At the evaluation, you can talk with your therapist about maybe you like the pool, or maybe you think the pool therapy might be a good thing for you. Talk to the therapist about it, and often the therapist will have an idea if they feel like the pool is a good place for you. From that, you’ll develop a plan of care together. It’s always a collaborative effort. I talk with the patient and see what are their goals and what are they trying to get back to? And then we create exercises and a plan that’s going to get them back to doing what they want to do. That’s kind of how therapy and how getting into aquatic therapy works.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Carolyn, for being with us today. That’s great information. This is Your Health Matters with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit MeritusHealth.com, that’s MeritusHealth.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.