REMARKABLE EFFECTIVENESS
Water therapy dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who designed elaborate aqueducts and bathed in hot springs to experience what they called “hydrotherapy,” a treatment that relieved stress, muscle aches, and other ailments.
Modern aquatic physical therapy is a highly effective form of rehabilitation that combines the benefits of exercise with the buoyancy and resistance of heated water to create a controlled, productive environment for rehabilitation and recovery.
Warm water supports a patient’s weight, reduces stress on the body, allows muscles to relax, and eases joint pain at a level that cannot be experienced on land. The water's buoyancy reduces gravity's effects, allowing patients to experience more significant movement, range of motion, alleviation of pressure on joints, and endurance without strenuous effort or pain. Additionally, aquatic physical therapy allows better treatment for certain conditions, especially those that affect the ability to bear weight.
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With a skilled clinical team and a state-of-the-industry aquatic therapy program, Integrated Therapy offers swimmers and non-swimmers of all ages the opportunity to prosper from the healing effects of water—including its unique ability to calm the body and mind.​​
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Why Water?
THERAPEUTIC
BENEFITS
OF WATER THERAPY
1
DECREASED COMPRESSION
ON JOINTS
2
REDUCES PAIN, SWELLING &
INFLAMMATION
3
ENHANCES AEROBIC
CAPACITY
4
EXPANDS
FLEXIBILITY & RANGE OF
MOTION
5
IMPROVES
MUSCLE ENDURANCE
6
PROVIDES A NATURAL RESISTANCE TO HELP STRENGTHEN
THE BODY
7
IMPROVES
BALANCE &
COORDINATION
8
INCREASES ABILITY FOR THE BODY
TO MOVE
MORE FREELY
ON LAND
9
LESSONS NEED
FOR PAIN MEDICATION
10
BOOSTS
OVERALL
FUNCTION
HISTORICAL TIDBIT
FDR swimming in a Warm Springs, GA pool. October 1925.
FDR receiving physical therapy or exercising with assistance in an indoor pool at Warm Springs, GA, 1928.
The Little White House
The Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia, located 60 miles south of Atlanta, is a National Historic Landmark featuring a complex of pools and springs for water therapy.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) first visited Warm Springs in 1924, seeking a cure for polio, which he had contracted three years prior. The 88-degree (Fahrenheit) mineral-rich spring waters did not cure him. However, the immersion in the buoyant, warm waters allowed FDR to physically exercise for more extended periods without experiencing fatigue. This immensely helped improve his condition and alleviate his symptoms.
In 1926, FDR purchased the Warm Springs resort, which he then transformed into a treatment and rehabilitation center for polio patients. He also established the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation a year later, where he worked with physicians and physical therapists to develop exercises and programs to improve conditions for himself and other patients. The Foundation was considered a permanent hydrotherapeutic center by the American Orthopedic Association in 1927. It became a place where patients with polio could visit and receive the proper care of a physical therapist.
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FDR later built the Little White House on the property in 1932 while serving as governor of New York before being inaugurated as president in 1933. He returned to Warm Springs each year to experience the therapeutic waters (except for 1942) until his death there in 1945.
The Little White House has been preserved back to its original state from the day he died and is now a Georgia State Historical Site, open to the public for tours.
PHOTO CREDITS:
To the best of our knowledge, the images of FDR used above are in the public domain and can be used without further permission.
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NPx: 74-20(457); Created: 1925; Uploaded: 16 July 2012
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76-70(30); Created: 1928; Uploaded: 16 July 2012