Aquatic Therapy in an Endless Pool – A Favorite Among Specialists

The Endless Pool's adjustable current allows for an easily monitored progression of exercises

Lynn Johnston, a therapist at LPT Fitness and Physical Therapy in Pennsylvania, sees the Endless Pool as a natural step in the progression of aquatic therapy.

Lynn notes that orthopedists are more apt than ever to prescribe aquatic therapy. "They [orthopedists] don't need to be convinced of benefits like buoyancy and decreased load on joints."

Having the Endless Pool available is an extra advantage for her therapy practice, Lynn suggests, because the adjustable current allows for an orderly and easily monitored progression of exercises.

For example, she cites the case of a patient recovering from rotator-cuff surgery. Heating pads, ultrasound and manual stretching had proven ineffective. However, when the patient tried hanging from the pool's exercise bar against an increasingly strong current, the result was a greater range of motion and freedom from pain.

When a back-surgery patient first visited the clinic, he was so sore that all he could do was sit on the Endless Pool's bench working his limbs against a gentle flow. Eventually, he was able to kick against the current and can now walk on dry land again, two to three miles, up dramatically from the two-block limitation following surgery.

"The point is to progress from the water-based exercises to full load-bearing exercises on land," Lynn says. "Without the Endless Pool's adjustable current, you just can't progress as far."

"Water therapy can also be a God-send for people with arthritis, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, and chronic joint or back pain," Leslie adds.

The ability to set the water temperature cooler (i.e. for MS), or warmer (i.e. for arthritis), is another key advantage of the Endless Pool.

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