Water therapy exercise program

Introduction to water therapy for exercise
Water therapy exercise programs (also called pool therapy, hydrotherapy, or aquatic therapy) consists of a variety of aquatic-based treatments and exercises that are designed for back pain relief, to condition and strengthen muscles.

Water therapy exercise offers many of the same benefits associated with a carefully designed land-based exercise program, including development of a treatment plan that is carefully tailored to the individual patient. Water therapy exercise is especially helpful in cases where land-based exercise therapy options are limited due to the patient’s pain, decreased bone density, disability or other factors.

The benefits of water during exercise therapy
The physical properties of water make it a highly desirable medium for treating back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries through exercise. Some of the most important properties of water for exercise are:

• Buoyancy: water counteracts gravity and helps to support the weight of the patient in a controlled fashion as the patient is immersed

• Viscosity: resists movement by means of friction, allowing strengthening and conditioning of an injury, while reducing the risk of further injury due to loss of balance

• Hydrostatic pressure: produces forces perpendicular to body surfaces at every point, increasing kinesthetic (body motion or position) and proprioceptive (posture self-regulating) awareness in some patients

Together, these properties allow development of a therapeutic exercise regimen that controls such critical factors as the weight placed on the spine (axial load) and risk of injury due to unintended movements during exercises.

Moreover, the patient’s pain may be relieved as a result of relaxation and sensory alterations due to water temperature and hydrostatic pressure during water therapy exercise. The buoyancy of water permits a greater range of positions due to the virtual elimination of gravitational forces. Buoyancy when doing water therapy exercises can be increased with the use of floats.

Limitations to consider during water therapy exercise
Water-based exercises should only be performed under the guidance of a qualified health professional. Water therapy exercise should not be used in cases involving fever, cardiac failure, incontinence, infection and other conditions. Patients with severely limited endurance or range of motion may pose safety issues for completing a water therapy exercise program.

The perception of objects in water is affected by refraction, leading to difficulty in learning specific motor skills in patients with limited kinesthetic or body awareness. Water temperature should be controlled to reduce undesirable cardiac, respiratory and other physiologic effects during water therapy exercise.