Patients that may benefit from aquatic therapy:

• Obese
• Pre-existing orthopedic conditions
• Range of motion limitations
• Compromised balance
• Patients with congestive obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Patients with eating disorders

Properties of water that are beneficial for patients:

• Hydrostatic pressure helps with breathing and reduces heart rate response to exercise, which lowers the rate of perceived exertion
• Buoyancy makes exercise primarily non-weight bearing
• Viscosity provides resistance through joint range of motion
• Temperature 92-94 degrees F helps to reduce joint and muscle soreness and stiffness

People participating in aquatic therapy may benefit from the following:

• Enhancement of the cardiorespiratory system
• Improvement of joint and muscle flexibility
• Improvement of muscular strength
• Improvement of muscular endurance
• Improvement of balance
• Improvement of psychosocial aspects

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