Aquatic Therapy for the Aging Adult
Did you know that several painful conditions respond to aquatic physical therapy? At Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center in Port Charlotte, our team of therapists uses the healing properties of water to help our patients get relief and improve their function, so they can keep doing what they love!
Staying active as a senior can be difficult. Stiff, achy joints that don’t work as well as they used to can make it hard to do your usual activities. Aquatic therapy is an excellent solution for aging adults to exercise regularly while reducing the strain on joints.
At our clinic, our physical therapists can guide you through an aquatic exercise program to help you alleviate your pain while improving your strength and overall fitness!
Call Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center in Port Charlotte today to schedule an appointment and see if aquatic therapy is right for you!
What is aquatic therapy at Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center?
Aquatic therapy, or pool therapy, is a form of physical therapy that uses the benefits of water as part of a therapeutic intervention. Exercises are performed under the direction of a licensed physical therapist trained to use the physical properties of water to assist in patient healing and exercise performance.
Your therapist will use the water’s natural properties to create an exercise program that safely challenges you without provoking your pain. A physical therapist can increase the resistance of an exercise and make the movement more difficult by increasing the surface area of a person’s body by adding paddles, noodles, and kickboards.
Your therapist can also manipulate the exercise intensity level by adding a current to the water. Currents that move in the same direction as a person’s body makes it easier. In contrast, turbulent flow, which moves in the opposite direction of a person’s body, makes it harder to move through the water and more challenging to balance while moving forward.
What conditions benefit the most from aquatic therapy?
Water’s natural properties set the stage for a therapeutic environment. Your therapist will start with a comprehensive evaluation and a movement assessment to identify all the factors contributing to your condition. Using this information, we will develop an individualized aquatic therapy program that includes targeted mobility work, strengthening, and any other appropriate water-based techniques.
Aquatic therapy can combat the following conditions:
- Arthritis and other joint pains
- Weakness
- Balance and gait challenges
- Fall prevention
- Cardiovascular health
- Relaxation and stress management
- Neurological disorders like stroke, Parkinson’s, and Multiple Sclerosis
The buoyant properties of water help to support you. This leads to an offloading of weight which reduces pain in the affected joints. Buoyancy makes balance and gait work safer because any fall in the water is more effortless for a therapist to deal with.
The benefits of aquatic therapy make it an effective way to implement exercise training for aging adults to improve their function and help them restore an active lifestyle!
What to expect at your aquatic therapy visit in Port Charlotte
Your initial physical therapy assessment takes place on land, where you will be evaluated, and your treatment goals and plan of care are established. Your therapist will recommend that your follow-up sessions take place in the water to direct each treatment session.
Aquatic physical therapy can be beneficial for individuals with neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorders. If you don’t know how to swim and you’re worried that you won’t be able to benefit from this type of therapy, have no fear! Patients don’t need to know how to swim before initiating an aquatic therapy program.
Typically, your session will start with a warm-up and progress into the exercises designed to address your particular injury or condition. Aquatic therapy provides a safe, comfortable, and therapeutic alternative to gain strength and reduce pain for patients who have difficulty exercising on land.
Contact Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center for an appointment
Contact Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center in Port Charlotte today if you suffer from aches and pains related to aging and want to learn more about aquatic therapy.
One of our dedicated physical therapists would be happy to meet with you for a consultation and discuss how our aquatic therapy programs can help you find a pain-free way to exercise!