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Robb Rose
Robb Rose is Director of Marketing Operations at Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital of Wichita. Robb is also a Respiratory Therapist, Boarded Disability Analyst and Adjunct Faculty for Wichita Sate University. He holds a Masters in Human Resources from Webster University. Robb serves on the American Lung Association Regional Council and the American Heart Association Board of Directors. Robb is married and has 2 children. He can be reached at (316) 729-9999
Health & Rehabilitation
2008-10-01 15:56:00
What is “hydrotherapy?”
Answer: Hydrotherapy or aquatics therapy is therapy and/or exercise that is done in a pool. Athletes have exercised in water for sometime now, knowing that it provides positive outcomes for regular exercise, as well as rehabilitation after accidents or surgeries. The Arthritis Foundation has realized the benefits for arthritis patients for the same reasons. The viscosity of water provides an excellent source of resistance when exercising. Aquatic therapy uses hydrostatic pressure, which greatly decreases swelling and greatly improves joint positioning and awareness. Joint positioning and awareness is important especially for joint sprains, when ligaments have been torn, and to decrease joint and soft tissue swelling that has resulted from arthritis and/or injury. Warm water therapy also helps relax muscles, dilate blood vessels, and increase blood flow to the injured areas. Patients with muscle spasm, back pain, fibromyalgia, knee injury, ankle injury, post-stroke patients, post-orthopaedic surgery patients, Parkinson’s patients and multiple sclerosis patients, as well as athletes or middle age week-end warriors, benefit from water therapy. Hydrotherapy also provides balance improvement, and positive outcomes for movement or mobility issues. According to the Journal of Strength Conditioning Research, pain levels are significantly less in patients using aquatics therapy. Another study in Arthritis Care Research showed significant improvements physically and emotionally in patients after just one month of aquatics therapy. Warm water therapy relaxes the body and provides a much more tolerable level of exercise for individuals that have difficulty and pain exercising on hard land. Aquatics therapy can use water cycles and treadmills, as well as such fine motor skill exercise for hands as simulated piano playing with hands/arms under water. In water that is waist deep you bear only 50 percent of your total weight. When walking in chest deep water you lose another 25 percent of your body weight. You are much lighter in water, so the exercise becomes more tolerable and much less painful for arthritis and post-surgery patients. Many participants will exercise in aquatics programs twice a week for 30-60 minutes, while others will participate as much as every other day, or even daily. Many of the best programs across the country have certified aquatics instructors, and are Arthritis Foundation-endorsed. Group exercise programs are available, as well, done with accompanying music and fun. Participants wear swimsuits or loose fitting shorts and shirts. Pools offering these programs have chair lifts and/or easy to use stairs to enter and exit the pool. The benefits are almost guaranteed. Regardless of age, the combination of heat, water and motion gives people a respite from pain, swelling and stress.
 
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