Did preparing for hurricane leave you with pain and limited range of motion

How Aquatic Therapy can help

Many of us found that we had to be a bit more active during the preparations for hurricane Irma. Perhaps you had to lift

heavy objects like furniture, cut back tree limbs, or put up hurricane shutters. With all of this extra activity, many individuals have tight muscles and more stiffness and soreness than usual.

If you find that you are having more difficulty mobilizing throughout your daily activities, Aquatic Therapy could significantly increase your range of motion and relieve your pinched nerves and sore muscles.

What is Aquatic Therapy?
Aquatic Therapy is beneficial for people with arthritis, back pain, impaired balance, muscle weakness, decreased endurance and difficulty with walking. On land, walking is a very beneficial way to exercise with little impact. However, three times your body weight is the amount of pressure put on your knee joints while walking. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, then 540 pounds of pressure is on your knee joints with every step.

When the body is submerged in water, it has buoyancy, which reduces stress on joints and muscles because the water opposes the weight of

the immersed limbs Since our bodies are approximately 15-18% fat, the fat weighs virtually nothing in the water, which helps with agility and promotes a feeling of lightness. This is extremely beneficial for protecting our joints.

A professional rehabilitation therapist can help increase your range of motion and flexibility within aquatic therapy treatment. From underwater treadmills to bikes, weights, belts, and tubes, there are many different types of equipment that can assist you in water treatment, but it is sometimes just as beneficial to use no equipment in aquatic exercising. The specially trained therapists will decide which therapy is right for your specific needs. Underwater (usually waist high) you will build up the strength of your muscles, making them stronger through resistance training, utilizing your own body against the pressure of the water.

Aquatic Therapy Benefits
The weight reduction from the water immersion is helpful to relieve pain and to protect weak bones, muscle tears or joint friction. Water exercise can help you lose weight, as you will burn calories,

and it also promotes relaxation throughout the entire body, which is beneficial for healing and overall health and wellness.

Individuals that have undergone aquatic therapy have shown great results in improving their balance, relieving strained muscles and pinched nerves, and gaining better mobility when performing daily tasks. Many people no longer require canes or walkers after their sessions have concluded. Each session is approximately 30 minutes long, and your therapist will decide exactly what’s best for you.

If you need help in relieving tension and refining your activities after hurricane Irma, please visit, freedomrehabaqautictherapy.com, or call Freedom Rehab at 941-400-1505.

 

941-400-1505
3545 Massini Ave., North Port