Executive Summary
- Aquatic physical therapy allows patients to perform guided low-impact exercises that reduce the strain on their weight-bearing joints as they build strength, stability, and flexibility.
- The buoyancy and resistance of water can help combat the pressure of gravity, while the warmth of water can ease muscles and decrease stiffness.
- With support from the water, many aquatic therapy patients report an increase in balance and coordination. Plus, the calculated movements can expedite post-surgery recoveries and provide mental health benefits.
- Aquatic therapy can be particularly beneficial for people with chronic joint conditions like arthritis, the elderly, and people who are recovering from joint surgery.
Understanding Aquatic Therapy’s Potential Benefits for Joint Pain
During a study from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, 70% of older adults claimed they were currently experiencing joint pain. Even more saddening, 45% of the people with joint pain had claimed they experienced symptoms daily.
Thankfully, aquatic therapy can play a significant role in relieving joint pain and improving mobility by reducing the pressure on their joints. Managing joint pain is crucial for preserving your quality of life, particularly for people with chronic conditions or recovering from surgery.
Aquatic physical therapy can help patients in various ways, ranging from increasing their flexibility and strength to achieving better balance and coordination. By knowing what aquatic therapy is and learning its benefits, you can make informed decisions about your joint pain management plan. Talk to a qualified medical professional to see if aquatic therapy is a suitable treatment for you.
Aquatic Therapy Overview
Aquatic therapy is the practice of performing calculated physical therapy exercises in a controlled body of water, like a pool, to allow the buoyancy of the water to lessen the impact on your joints. Many patients have noted an increase in flexibility and strength after consistently practicing aquatic therapy, especially in warm water, which is known to relax the body.
This therapy allows for a range of gentle exercises. Some examples of activities your physical therapist may instruct you to perform are:
- Walking
- Leg lifts or knee bends
- Arm circles
- Range of motion exercises for ankles
Depending on the severity of the joint pain, some movements above might be too painful on land. Still, the resistance of the water can make it easier during an aquatic therapy session. This practice is especially effective for those suffering from arthritis or recovering from joint surgery.
How Aquatic Therapy Works
Water exerts an upward force called buoyancy, which counteracts gravity, potentially making an object feel lighter. Due to the resistance that water imposes on someone floating within it, buoyancy can reduce the pressure on joints and support the body.
Aquatic therapy can allow some people to move more freely with less strain, particularly in their weight-bearing joints. This is especially beneficial for those with joint pain, as it can allow for a low-impact exercise that wouldn’t be as comfortable or feasible on land. Additionally, warm water temperature can relax muscles and improve circulation, further reducing stiffness and discomfort.
Aquatic Therapy Exercises
You should work with a qualified physical therapist to build and walk you through an aquatic therapy exercise plan tailored to your needs. Some examples of exercises that your therapist may suggest are:
- Walking in water – This can engage muscles throughout the legs and core, while buoyancy reduces joint strain. Over time, this activity can increase strength and balance.
- Leg swings – These can help improve hip and knee flexibility since the gentle support of water can encourage a wider range of motion and less pain.
- Water-based stretches – These can be extra beneficial when the warmth of water eases tight muscles and increases joint flexibility, potentially making stretching more comfortable and effective.
The above activities have the potential to build strength, increase mobility, and reduce pain. Even more importantly, doing these in an aquatic setting with a qualified professional present can offer a low risk of injury.
Aquatic Therapy Benefits for Joint Pain
Aquatic therapy can offer multiple advantages for individuals dealing with joint pain. Depending on the severity of your joint condition and the consistency in which someone practices aquatic therapy, they may experience the following benefits.
1. Reduced Impact on Joints
Aquatic therapy takes advantage of water’s buoyancy to help submerged bodies float, making individuals feel lighter. With less tension from gravity and body weight, aquatic physical therapy patients can perform low-impact exercises without the same level of stress on joints that the patient may feel on the surface.
For example, leg lifts require the user to stand on one foot at a time, which can be challenging for someone who has had knee surgery. However, doing leg lifts while submerged in water can reduce the body weight the planted foot has to bear. Therefore, it can make movement more comfortable and less painful for many patients.
2. Increased Flexibility and Range of Motion
By reducing pressure on joints, aquatic therapy can significantly decrease friction and grinding sensations for people with joint conditions, allowing various segments of their body to move more freely. This can help patients reach new lengths in terms of flexibility.
Additionally, soaking in warm water can reduce pain and stiffness by decreasing inflammation. The water’s high yet comfortable temperature can increase circulation, delivering oxygen-rich blood to the affected tissues and causing inflammation to decrease quickly. Less inflammation can mean fewer mobility restrictions, improving the person’s stretching capabilities.
3. Improved Strength and Stability
In addition to forcing it upward, water exerts pressure on all sides of a submerged body. Water can support humans by pressing in from every direction, keeping them upright. Since it usually takes place in chest-deep water, aquatic therapy gives patients a controlled, low-risk environment to perform exercises, which is key to incrementally building strength.
After consistently exercising underwater, aquatic therapy patients may experience muscle growth that translates to above-ground movement. Since their physical therapist should have instructed them through exercises targeting specific muscles that support weight-bearing joints, the patient may see improvements in overall joint stability.
4. Reduced Pain and Stiffness
Swelling, a common side effect of joint pain, is known to amplify pain by irritating nerves at the site of inflammation. Combatting this, the water’s warmth during aquatic therapy and any cardiovascular exercises the patient performs can facilitate circulation. By keeping blood moving and promoting lymphatic drainage, increasing circulation can flush out metabolic waste products and excess fluid contributing to swelling, helping some patients mitigate pain.
Enhanced circulation can reduce stiffness by warming up joints and muscles, potentially giving them more pliability and range of motion. Moreover, improved circulation can produce more synovial fluid within the joints, helping it lubricate and cushion joint surfaces to offer smoother and more comfortable movement.
5. Better Balance and Coordination
Water’s 360-degree support for weak joints and limbs bolsters the mechanisms needed for balance and coordination. The underwater setting can also eliminate the risk of falling even while executing dynamic exercises like high knees.
Continued aquatic therapy practice can lead to the strengthening of stabilizing muscles like hip flexors. This means some patients may experience balance and coordination improvements on land, too, thanks to the muscle-building they did during therapy.
6. Faster Recovery Post-Surgery or Injury
Routine exercises are critical to the recovery process following joint-related operations like hip surgery. By building up your glutes or similar stabilizing muscles and enhancing your balance, patients can ease back into everyday activities sooner and more comfortably. However, certain exercises can be challenging when someone is feeling residual discomfort from a surgical procedure.
Since water resistance can help patients complete gentle exercises that promote healing, trying aquatic therapy can be one of the best post-surgery recovery tips.
7. Mental Health Benefits
Outside of the physical benefits of aquatic physical therapy, the calming sensation of being in water can have a relaxing effect. Some patients report a reduction in stress and anxiety, promoting their overall well-being. This is incredibly important for people who are feeling upset or down due to the restrictions that their joint condition has had on activities.
Each person who tries aquatic therapy is bound to have a unique experience because their body, goals, and prescribed exercises will differ. Nevertheless, many patients will experience some of the benefits mentioned above if they are consistent and strategic with their approach to aquatic therapy.
Who Can Benefit from Aquatic Therapy?
Aquatic therapy can be beneficial for most people with joint pain. Some examples of conditions that aquatic physical therapy is regularly used to treat the symptoms of are:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- ACL, LCL, or MCL injuries
- Rotator cuff tears
- Hip labral tears
- Patellar tendinitis
In addition to its benefits for people with the conditions mentioned above, aquatic therapy can help the elderly and post-surgery patients because the resistance from the water can make it easier and less painful for them to move around and build muscle.
Still, aquatic physical therapy may not be for everyone. For example, people with skin infections or chlorine sensitivities may be better suited for alternative treatments. Additionally, some people with cardiovascular conditions may want to avoid aquatic therapy because of the cardiovascular load or pressure changes in the water.
How to Start Aquatic Therapy
Before starting aquatic therapy, it’s essential to consult a qualified medical professional to ensure it’s appropriate for your condition. Your medical provider may also be able to recommend a reliable aquatic therapy center with certified therapists. If not, leverage online reviews and referrals from people you trust to find a licensed aquatic therapy facility that has helped improve the lives of patients with similar conditions as you.
Although each aquatic therapy session may differ, some examples of elements a typical session may involve are:
- Giving your therapist status updates on your condition
- Performing warm-up exercises
- Attempting balancing and coordination training
- Shifting to more demanding, water-based strength and mobility exercises
- Ending with cool-down stretches
- Post-session review with at-home recommendations
Each step of the process should be tailored to your specific needs, making the status updates at the beginning of the session crucial. Your physical therapist can use the information you provide to create a workout plan with the highest level of effectiveness possible.
Explore Alternative Therapies for Joint Pain
Aquatic therapy can offer a wide array of benefits to people seeking joint pain relief. For example, aquatic physical therapy can reduce the strain on joints by using water resistance to counteract gravity and body weight. It can also reduce pain and stiffness while offering a comfortable, buoyant environment for the patient to perform strength and mobility exercises.
Unfortunately, many people do not know what aquatic therapy is, preventing them from taking advantage of this treatment’s benefits. Whether you are managing a chronic joint condition like arthritis, recovering from surgery, or looking for a gentle yet effective exercise routine, aquatic therapy has the potential to enhance your quality of life.
The Joint Replacement Center of Scottsdale has ample experience treating patients with moderate to severe joint pain. In addition to top-of-the-line knee and hip surgeries, our talented joint specialists offer alternative therapies like ARPwave therapy and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF), which can help patients reduce some of their symptoms, such as pain and swelling.
Schedule a consultation to start a treatment plan that is tailored to your unique case of joint pain.
