AQUATIC THERAPY

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AQUATIC THERAPY

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Intro to Aquatic Therapy

• Aquatic therapy
• is a therapeutic modality that involves the
  patient to do an exercise program in water
• Aquatic therapy uses the physical properties of
  water to assist in patient healing and exercise
  performance.
• Buoyancy (up to 90 of our body weight is
  removed)

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Who Benefits from Aquatic therapy

• Patients with
• Arthritis
• Healing fractured bones
• Stress fractures
• Who have pain only in WB activities
• who are overweight
• Post surgery

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The Benefits of Aqua Therapy

• Pain Control
• Water against the skin causes a sensory response
  which blocks pain receptors and therefore
  inhibits the sensation of pain from getting to
  the brain.
• Increase in Self-Esteem
• People who have suffered a devastating injury and
  need to slowly regain the movements of daily
  living. Once they have achieved this goal, and
  are not so dependent on others, they may get a
  psychosocial boost.
• Decrease Impact
• Exercises in the water decreases the impact
  created within the joints as compared to
  completing exercises on land

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Other Benefits

• Great for patients with
• Swelling
• Decreased ROM
• Decreased strength
• Decreased balance, coordination, proprio
• Weight bearing restrictions
• Cardio deconditioning
• Gait deviations

• Difficulty with land intervention
• Arthritis
• Healing fractured bones
• Stress fractures
• Who have pain only in WB activities
• who are overweight
• Post surgery

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Disadvantages

• Access to a pool
• Not every clinic will be near or have a pool
  suitable for aquatic therapy
• Qualified pool attendants
• Qualified ATs

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Precautions and contraindications

• Open wounds
• Respiratory dysfunction
• Seizure disorders, controlled by meds
• Fear of water
• chlorine allergy
• altered peripheral sensation
• untreated infectious disease
• serious cardiac conditions

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Upper limb

• Can be used for treatment of
• The shoulder complex
• Elbow
• Wrist
• Hand

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Exercises for Shoulder Complex Injuries

• Initial Level
• Start with patient in shoulder deep water
• walking forwards and backwards trying to keep a
  normal arm swing
• GH movements can be done with patient back
  against the wall to stabilize the scapula
• The movements can be done supine or prone
  depending on the patients level of comfort in the
  water

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Exercises for Shoulder Complex Injuries

• Intermediate Level
• At this stage you can use equipment to increase
  the resistance to build on strength
• Keeping with in a pain free zone
• Scapular stabilization can be progressed from the
  standing position to a supine position
• Over head movements can be incorporated in the
  program by positioning the patient in a supine or
  prone position

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Exercises for Shoulder Complex Injuries

• Final Level
• The goal for this level is to incorporate sport
  specific movements, and to make it more
  challenging
• By bringing in sport equipment into the pool the
  patient can do sport specific movements

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Lower Limb

• Can be used for treatment of
• Hip
• Knee
• Ankle

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Exercises for Lower Limb Injuries

• Initial Level
• Goals
• Increase normal movements
• Increase strength of unaffected muscles
• Increase ROM
• Walking forward, backwards and sideways help
  maintain a normal gait
• Deep water activities help maintain cardio for
  patients who cant WB due to stress fractures or
  other injuries that require NWB activities

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Exercises for Lower Limb

• Intermediate Level
• Goals
• Increase ROM
• Increase Strength
• Increase Flexibility
• Aqua belts can be used to allow for deep water
  running
• Can do eccentric activities in shallow water by
  standing on a flutter board or a noodle

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Exercises for Lower Limb

• Final Level
• Best used as a compliment to on land training
• Can have the athlete do deep water activities
  without a flotation belt
• Can do squats on noodles, dumbbells, or flutter
  boards
• Pool running

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Things you can use for Aquatic Therapy

• Thera-band
• to tether them to the wall for pool running
• For added resistance
• Tennis balls on a rope
• a rope with knots
• Milk jugs for weights
• Hockey sticks, old golf clubs, old tennis
  racquets, clothing