aquatic therapy

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girl12345

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Has anyone tried aquatic therapy? I was perscribed it, but I am not sure about it. I do not like going in the pool. I don't know if I should try it or just do regular therapy again. The regular therapy will fit into my schedule better. Any advice is greatful.
 
Hello, I did both reg. P/T and Aquatic P/T. I am hanRAB down, an aquatics fan. I was able to get better faster, because I was able to do things in the water without pain, that I was not allowed to even try on land.

Now, if it does not work into your schedule, you can do the regular P/T and then find a local pool that has an aquatics class for people with arthritis and other disabilities. That way you can get the benefits of aquatic therapy, but on your own time. My Dr. had me walking as much as I could at first and said that he did not want me to do anything more than walking, until there was evidence of the fusion taking. At my 3 month f/u and there was no fusion, he said that he did not want me to start with p/t yet. I mentioned me going to my local pool, & he said it was an absolutly great idea. He said that I was not allowed to actually swim, but walking in the water or taking the arthritic classes would be great.

I took the class and at 1st, I could only do some of the excercises, but they tell you, if you can not do something, just stand in place and walk or to go to the side and rest against the wall. So, I did that a lot, at the beginning. There was a lady who had recently had a stroke and she was in the same position that I was in, so we stayed close to each other. By the 4th or so class, I was able to do the entire class. Not only did I feel better after just a few classes, but I was walking more and as a bonus, I lost some weight:).

After my 2nd fusion, when it came to my 3 mo. f/u and my Dr. wanted to order P/T, I asked him if he thought it would be just as good if I had the Aquatic P/T and he agreed to it. So, instead of reg. P/T, I did it in the water. It is just so much more easy and less pain. Now, it was also out of the way for me and I was concerned that maybe I would not finish all 12 sessions But, I was able to find hrs. that worked with mine, they even had Sat. hours. I did have to wait longer to get started because I was looking for specific hrs., but once they got me in on my choice of days, it was alway on the same days after that. Also, where I went, they had some days that they had more than one person in the pool and they had 2 instructors. Some of the excercises, we all did at the same time. Other times they worked with us 1 on 1 and everyone else did other routine excercises with the 2nd instructor.

One last suggestion, look up the different areas that have aquatic P/T (you probably have noticed that it isn't provided in most P/T centers). I did this and found the one that was closes to my work...then when I talked to the Dr. about it and he said that he knew of one that was further away, I asked him if he would write the referral for the one I had found. He was glad to do it, and he only suggested his because it was the only one in the area that he knew about. So, don't assume you have to go to the one that the Dr. tells you about.

Good luck and let me know how it turns out.

Lorie:angel:
 
Hi

I went to test out the water first-so to speak.

I was told even floating on my back would be helpful by my physio.
BIG NO NO!!

Complete agony!
Nurab feet and cramp and spasms and shooting pains up my back.
Ok. I thought i would try just floating forward!

BIG NO NO AGAIN and i havent been back since.

After trawling through the internet i now find that staying upright and gently using your legs and arms may be the best way so i brought a floatation device to jkeep me upright but still havent been to test it.

I really hope it works better for you than for me.

Its another case of finding out what works best for you!
 
Thanks for the replies.

What types of stuff did you do in the pool? I am not the water type and I tend to get ear infections a lot (I actually have one now). I can't get water in my ears. Is keeping the water out easy to do (ear plugs hurt my ears)? I am just trying to get facts before I decide what to do.
 
HanRAB down for me I strongly recommend the pool. No swimming/floating. Get a flotation device for the miRABection of your body. Go into the deep end of the pool and walk on the top of the water. It takes the pressure off the spine. Do this for a couple of weeks slowly increasing the time. I begin this therapy with the spa ahead of time for 15 minutes, do the pool walking, then go back in the spa at the end for about 15 minutes. I would begin the pool walking for 5 minutes then slowly increase once a week depending on your pain levels.

Once you get to 15 minutes of pool walking you are probably safe to start doing jumping jacks or running in the deep end of the pool. Just remeraber don't do anything to twist the spine such as twirling in the deep end.

Good luck.
 
Pool time is very good.

They do have the Styrofoam ear plugs that adjust to the size of your ears.

My water PT instructor game me sheets of the exercises that they do so I could do them on my own at my own pool.

Many hotels offers pool passes as well.

I put my hair up in a ponytail and it never gets wet.
Heck I even leave my glasses on too while in the pool.

Good Luck
 
I agree with no floating or any swimming. If you are going to try the pool on your own vs. P/T classes, make sure you ask your Dr. what you can and can not do. You may try something on your own and won't know not to do it, until later when it hurts. As the others have said, you can not go wrong with water walking. I had never heard of this, but when I started to go early in the morning, I saw all these people walking...I could not figure out what the big deal was with this. It is an excellent way to stretch and tone your core muscles with out the pain that you might get from walking outside.

Lorie:angel:
 
What do you mean by walking on top of the water????????Are your feet on the floor of the pool??
 
For me, I took aquaics 2 different times. I never got my hair at all wet. Each excercise is very slow and direct. There is no swimming, bending, twisting etc.

As far as walking in the pool, there are 2 levels of intensity. You can either get in the water where you can touch the ground easily, and you simply walk across the width of the pool back and forth. The less of your body sticking out of the water, the harder it gets to walk. So, you start in what you can do easily, say 4 feet and then if it is really easy, then go up to 4 1/2 feet etc.

The 2nd way of doing it, once you get more advanced, get into the pool, where the water is up to you neck, or so. Instead of walking, you can kind of bob up and down or jog in the water, back and forth the width of the pool. It sounRAB odd and maybe easy, but it is a good workout and it does not stress you back or your joints.

Lorie:angel:
 
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