What is Aquatic Therapy?
Aquatic Therapy consists of an exercise program that is performed in the water and assisted by a licensed therapist or doctor. At BrookBelle Alternative Healthcare, that doctor is Dr. Scott Solomon. Aquatic Therapy is beneficial and useful for a variety of medical conditions, by using the physical properties of water to assist in patient healing and exercise performance.
What are the Benefits of Aquatic Therapy?
One benefit is the buoyancy provided by the water. While submerged in water, buoyancy assists in supporting the weight of the patient. This decreases the amount of weight bearing which reduces the force of stress placed on the joints. This aspect of aquatic therapy is especially useful for patients with arthritis, healing fractured bones, or who are overweight. By decreasing the amount of joint stress it is easier and less painful to perform exercises.
The viscosity of water provides an excellent source of resistance that can be easily incorporated into an aquatic therapy exercise program. This resistance allows for muscle strengthening without the need for weights. Using resistance coupled with the water’s buoyancy allows a person to strengthen muscle groups with decreased joint stress that can not be experienced on land.
When you utilize hydrostatic pressure to decrease swelling and improve joint position awareness, the hydrostatic pressure produces forces perpendicular to the body’s surface. This pressure provides joint positional awareness to the patient. As a result, patient proprioception is improved. This is important for patients who have experienced joint sprains, as when ligaments are torn, our proprioception becomes decreased. It also assists in decreasing joint and soft tissue swelling that results in injury or with arthritic disorders.
Lastly, the warmth of the water assists in relaxing muscles and vasodilates vessels, increasing blood flow to injured areas. Patients with muscle spasms, back pain, and fibromyalgia find this aspect of aquatic therapy especially therapeutic.
BrookBelle's Aquatic Therapy is ideal for many patients:
- Recovering from Surgery
- Recovering from a work related injury
- Recovering from an auto accident
- Difficulty walking
- Trouble with balance
- Painful joints
Aquatic Therapy is perfect for those needing low impact exercises to stay healthy and active. Not everyone can do high impact work outs like running, or intense cardio. Our aquatic therapy allows patients to work out in a controlled, low impact, high resistance environment. As an added benefit, this form of exercise is also administered and supervised by a licensed doctor. Whether you are a fist timer - or a seasoned pro - we welcome you to come check out our facility located at 906 Town Center, New Britain, PA 18901. (Right near Doylestown, PA).
Learn how Aquatic Therapy can help your fitness goals
