By Land or By Water: Aquatic Therapy

Blythe Kolb, Physical Therapy with Bon Secours In Motion

Take your physical therapy into the water! The idea of aquatic therapy is nothing new, but physical therapists have been figuring out more and more ways to use this low-impact therapy to help their patients heal better and faster. In a “Health Headlines” interview with Wavy TV, Blythe Kolb, a physical therapist with Bon Secours In Motion in Chesapeake, discusses the benefits of aquatic therapy to various kinds of patients.

According to Blythe, aquatic therapy is designed to help patients who can’t tolerate a lot of stress on their joints. Instead of land therapy, experts now have the option of taking sessions to the pool, where buoyancy can help assist patient healing by taking the pressure off of sensitive or swollen joints. For sufferers who have swelling in their joints, the hydrostatic pressure of the water applies equal pressure to every submerged limb – promoting blood flow to the heart and creating a more effective exercise. Because patients can exercise sooner and with less pain, aquatic therapy helps accelerate the healing process  and speed recovery.

So what kind of injuries benefit from this program? “We get a variety of patients in the pool,” says Blythe, “total joint replacements, ACL surgeries, fibromyalgia patients. Those who can’t tolerate the land-based therapy are able to get more accomplished in the pool.”

If you’re interested in aquatic therapy talk to your primary care physician or call In Motion Physical Therapy at (757) 673-5971.