Cedar Village Retirement Community opened in the last five months a $2.4 million, Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Aquatic Therapy Center that includes two HydroWorx therapy pools for outpatient therapy and a larger lap pool for aquatic classes.
“The natural proprieties of water provide a low-risk exercise environment that may reduce the likelihood risk of acute injury, fatigue, fears, and falls while exercising,” said Yasser Salem, PT, PhD, professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, in published studies on the effectiveness of aquatic therapy.
Patients will commonly have issues such as chronic and acute pain; spinal cord injuries; post-surgery from a knee or hip replacement; arthritis; ankle injuries; or neurological disorders such as stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
Cynthia Lear, physical therapist at UC Health’s Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care, said they’ve offered aquatic therapy for at least 20 years. The center draws clients from as far north as Xenia, parts of Butler and Warren counties and east into Indiana.
Lear said aquatic physical therapy — which uses warm-water pools at temperatures of 88 to 91 degrees — is effective for both orthopaedic and neurological problems.
“It’s a really good tool to get patients as functional as possible and back to normal activities,” said Margo Cox, a physical therapist and site coordinator for Atrium Medical Center’s outpatient orthopaedic clinic at the Atrium Family YMCA.
Cox said not all physical therapy centers offer aquatic therapy due to the cost to operate and maintain the pools. Atrium has been using the pool at the YMCA for seven years now.
Cox said the aquatic therapy will include exercises such as jogging and marching in the water, arm movements, resistance exercises, rotating hips, heel raises, and extending the legs backward, forward and to the side.
Cox said the Atrium rehab clinic will see about 30 clients per week for aquatic therapy. She said the goal is for aquatic clients to eventually transition to land therapy to become more functional for daily activities.
Elaine Dumes, 88, who lives at Cedar Village in Mason, said after breaking her leg about a year and a half ago, she received ground physical therapy and then moved into aquatics.
“It’s really done a world of good for me,” Dumes said, adding the therapist challenges her in the water.
Dumes said she’s completed eight sessions in the HydroWorx pools, during which she will do arm and leg exercises and use the treadmill on the floor of the pool to walk against resistance from the water jets.
“I needed balance,” Dumes said. “It has helped me with my walking.”
David Busam, director of outpatient rehabilitation at Cedar Village, said the HydroWorx therapy pools have adjustable floors to lower the client from ground level down to five feet. He said the facility is open to anyone in Greater Cincinnati with a physician’s prescription for physical therapy.
Busam said the therapy pools include handle bars, a treadmill on the floor that reaches speeds of 8 mph, and six under-water cameras for the instructor and client to watch for feedback on how they’re walking and where they’re placing their weight.
Erin Cordie, a physical therapist and therapy program director at Berkeley Square in Hamilton, said they hope to have their new HyrdoWorx therapy pool available to clients by 2016.
She said aquatic therapy is especially effective for elderly people with balance problems and those re-learning how to walk. She said the chance for a re-injury from falling is greatly decreased in the pool setting.
“You strengthen their abilities in the water; there’s a greater comfort level,” Cordie said.
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