Aquatic therapy

Aquatic exercise and aquatic physical therapy are not the same thing. When specifically speaking of aquatic exercise, the goals may be to work on fitness, strength, weight loss, muscular endurance or muscular strength and the individual does not require the supervision and direction of the therapist. In contrast, Aquatic therapy is designed to treat a specific deficit or dysfunction in the body that limits normal functioning of the body. In addition, aquatic therapy is designed and individually tailored to meet the needs of a specific patient by a doctor of physical therapy. The following are guidelines on when an individual may be a good candidate for skilled aquatic physical therapy versus aquatic exercise alone.

Aquatic physical therapy requires the “skilled service” of a PT and/or PTA which may include:
a) the clinical reasoning and decision making skills of a PT/PTA;
b) the patient has impairments and/or disabilities which can be minimized or eliminated with aquatic physical therapy; and
c) the patient has potential for reaching new functional goals/outcomes to improve quality of life and ease the burden of care.