Hydrotherapy for SI Joints or Other?

Hydrotherapy feels great!
Whenever I hurt or am very stiff I sit in very warm water and it loosen me up very quickly.

Joy, am glad to hear it helps you.

Lucy, my first session is Wed.  Will let you know.

Hi everyone I am new here and I just wanted to say that I love Hydrotherapy!!

I can't say it reduces inflammation but it certainly does not aggravate your joints worse! A few years ago I had nearly a whole year at the gym doing treadmill, recumbent bikes and ellipticals and I just took it as being that's just the way it is when the next day I would hurt worse. But I don't have that at all with the Swim therapy.

The pool is about 4 1/2 feet deep. They use bromide as a disinfectant so there isn't that heavy chlorine smell and it is at 90 degrees which feels really good on your joints and muscles. Also the buoyancy seems to really help me be able to do things like squats which are hard for me to do out of the water I can do with ease in the water. It is also aerobic because you are working against the weight of the water so you get a lot out of just simply walking in the water. When you go there they may ask you to not wear perfumes or anything like deodorants with a scent-also keep your jewelry at home-if it drops in the pool it can be nearly impossible to recover

How it works for me is in the beginning I saw a therapist every week, but then as I got more adapted to it and she got to know me she made a personalized routine for me to do. This saves me and my insurance-I do the routine by myself for a month and then she reevaluates it and increases some stuff and sometimes decreases some exercises that I have a harder time with-so the insurance just has to pay for one therapy visit a month and I get to do individual swim therapy for like 2-3 times per week.

My basic routine is once I get there I go into the shower and put on my suit and wet down, then do 40 minutes (roughly 30 minutes aerobics and 10 minutes stretching) in the pool, then get out shower, change and go home. I can't say enough good about it. It has completely changed my view on exercise.

So good luck Lu and keep us posted!!

Hi,

Thought i'd respnd back about my hydrotheraphy session last week.  I felt it fine when in the water.  no pain or anything, and no extra pain afterwards.  To be honest though, I don't quite understand the purpose of it or how it'll help make me better.  If anyone undersatnds the benefits better, let me know.

Hi Lucy,

It was done in a regular indoor pool (my son is actually taking swimming lessons there), but it was 90 degrees, so very warm. She had me do simple exercises...walking, walking with moving legs up and over, stretching type exercises. Actually, I did have pain afterwards...but no different than before I went in so it didn't hurt, so to speak.

I am going again this week as recommended by my physiotherapist.

Silly question but does it do any help in the long run?  Or only eases stress on joints at the time in the water?

 

It sounds much like the "aquatic therapy" I had for a herniated disc.  I wondered if it would be similar.  The pool was warm and we used water shoes for walking, a flotation belt for deep-end core work and the noodles, foam blocks, etc.  I agree with Golitho - it took awhile, but some strength did return and I found it very helpful.  Unfortunately, there is no longer a warm pool in my area for this kind of therapy - not even through insurance.  The Y pool is much too cold.  I hope you will find a benefit as well, and maybe can make it a regular form of "therapy" for yourself.   I wish it was available locally in my neck of the woods.   And I'm not fond of the whole dry to wet, wet to dry process, which I sometimes found exhausting after a session - but I think the benefits outdo the hassle. 

Good luck with it - hope it works well for you!

Lucy

Last week (unfortunately just prior to a trip to NY where we do lots of walking), I had a hydrotheraphy session.  I had actually been having a few good days prior to that (have no idea what attributed to that), but the day after the hydro session, I was in sooo much pain again.  My back and joints were awful.  I felt fine in the water, but this must have set the pain off again.  Did I do somethign wrong?  I do find that regular stretches done in PT sessions aggrevates things and makes me worse, so is it possible this is the same thing?  It didn't occur to me that it would cause issues as it seems so harmless when in the water.  Otherwise, i wouldn't have scheduled just prior to going away.

That makes sense.  Don't think I'll be doing hydrotherapy again.  It's so frustrating as the things that should be helping (i.e. hydrotherapy, regular exercises from physio) seem to only be making things worse.