As doctors and patients look for effective alternatives to traditional physiotherapy, Aquatic Therapy, also known as hydrotherapy, continues to grow in popularity for a wide variety of conditions.

There’s no mystery here: Aquatic Therapy is just physical therapy in water, usually in the form of a heated pool, so that a great number of rehabilitative exercises can be done with the support of water. Water not only supports the body’s weight but also adds hydrostatic pressure which can help joint and soft tissue swelling and even edema.

Internationally, aquatic therapy has a very long history going back to hot springs and the heated baths of ancient Greece, Rome, China, Japan, Meso-America and the Middle East.

Aquatic therapy has been shown to result in higher patient compliance rates and fewer complaints about pain in the recovery process.

Used by athletes and professionals to recover more quickly, Aquatic Physical Therapy can be used to treat the following:

• Arthritis
• Balance issues
• Chronic pain
• Low back pain
• Scoliosis
• Spinal cord injuries
• Sprains and strains
• Tendonitis
• Osteoarthritis
• Joint replacement therapy
• Joint reconstruction therapy

If you’re interested in referring a patient or setting up a personal appointment call Southern California Sports Rehabilitation at (888) 734-2280 or use our Contact form.

Benefits of Aquatic Therapy

• Less difficulty performing the exercises: in the water, there is less weight bearing on painful joints due to the buoyancy. This helps to decrease pain while providing the patient with additional assistance and support during treatment sessions.
• Increases strength: the viscosity of the water provides a three dimensional resistance. The patient will become gradually stronger without causing damage to healing structures.
• Decreases edema: due to the hydrostatic pressure of the water.
• Decreases pain: the warmth of the water increases peripheral circulation and allows muscles to relax, which helps to decrease pain with daily activities.
• Increases proprioception: the temperature of the water facilitates body awareness and balance.
• Improves self-esteem: patient’s confidence is encouraged in a functional environment.
• Improves functional mobility: the buoyancy of water provides protection to inflamed joints causing a gradual increase in strength and range of motion, which allows the patient to have more flexibility and endurance.
• Faster recovery: patients are able to start the rehabilitation process earlier and progress faster to land-based physical therapy.