Physical therapy is mainly used to help patients recover after injury. It may take months or even years for muscle strength and joint activity range to return to normal level, but water rehabilitation can improve training efficiency and shorten rehabilitation cycle, and is suitable for people of all ages. There are many benefits of physical rehabilitation and training in water, which can improve muscle performance and help reduce acute and chronic pain.

Hydrostatic pressure

Because the density of water is higher than that of air, when the human body enters the water, it will exert greater pressure on the body, because water can constantly adjust its shape to adapt to the movement of limbs. It acts on the skin, muscles and joints through hydrostatic pressure, which promotes the heart and lungs to work harder, because the pleural cavity is directly squeezed by water. In addition, hydrostatic pressure is like a compression bandage on the whole body. When the water depth is in the neck position, it helps to reduce chronic muscle pain. Making full use of this property of water during treatment can help patients obtain many therapeutic benefits.

Dull touch

The nervous system has a reticular system of nerve endings in skin and muscle tissue, which can respond to the slightest stimulation. Under continuous stimulation, if the body receives pressure from water, the nervous system will automatically slow down the response of the reticular system, which is responsible for processing tactile sensory neurons. This will help relieve muscle pain and enable the limbs to move within the range of motion of the whole joint, so as to speed up the treatment. One of the biggest obstacles of traditional physical therapy is the pain caused by moving the injured joint muscles to restore their function. In this way, patients usually need the advice of physical therapists, which will take a certain amount of treatment time. In addition, patients who do not like to be directly contacted usually feel calmer in the water, because the feeling of touch in the water is not so strong.

resistance

One of the biggest benefits of water rehabilitation treatment is that water can provide continuous resistance compared with air. At present, swimming, water polo and other water sports are some of the most energy consuming sports. They do not need huge resistance equipment and can allow complete freedom of movement. Exerting more energy to complete habitual movements helps to recover atrophic muscles faster by using more muscle fibers, and the presence of water helps to reduce pain. In addition, due to the buoyancy of the water, it can help the patient stand in the water and reduce the fear of falling.

Reconstructing muscle memory

The viscosity and resistance of water will make the human body move slower in the water, so that it can have more time, let the brain process the signals from the muscles more thoroughly, and help to rebuild the memory of the muscles. In patients with neuromuscular diseases or other injury diseases, muscle reconstruction becomes easier due to the characteristics of water. In addition, exercising in water will also enable patients to focus on correctly exercising muscles in the whole range of motion, because in water, it takes longer to give action response, and it can also enable the brain to fully think about how limbs move.

Easy access to patients

In the normal physical therapy process, the therapist can only contact one side of the patient’s body, because the patient is usually lying on the treatment bed. However, in the water, the therapist can change his position at any time to guide the movement of the patient in all directions. Therefore, in the water, the contact between the therapist and the patient is more convenient.

Improve circulation

Due to hydrostatic pressure, the heart is subjected to constant pressure. At the same time, the water temperature is generally maintained at 31-33 ℃, which is also conducive to promoting blood circulation. Increasing the blood flow of limbs is conducive to promoting healing. For people with weak heart muscle strength, this can compensate for poor blood circulation by transporting oxygen enriched blood to peripheral circulation.

Muscle relaxation

Warm water helps to expand blood vessels and improve muscle circulation. Muscle soreness is usually caused by lactic acid accumulation. The increase of blood flow will accelerate the elimination of lactic acid and reduce soreness. After training, a certain amount of lactic acid will be produced, and muscle pain will make patients lose power. Therefore, one of the biggest benefits of water rehabilitation treatment is to relax muscles, which can also prevent accidental injury caused by over training and reduce the stress on healed muscles, cartilage or connective tissue.

massage

When the body moves in the water, it will produce water flow. The gentle water flow can be used as a natural massage method to further promote circulation, relax fatigue and eliminate pain. You can also use water slurry or some special underwater massage facilities to massage and relax the body, so as to solve the problem.

Relaxed and pleasant environment

Water environment can usually provide patients with a pleasant environment. Compared with traditional rehabilitation treatment, patients in water enjoy the treatment process more. Therapists can also design some targeted and challenging treatment activities, which can meet their physical and mental needs at the same time.