Make the SPLASH into home care support with hydrotherapy classes
Hydrotherapy allows exercise and movement even in the most challenging or painful areas of the body. When the body moves, pain is reduced. The most difficult step for people is to get those painful parts of the body moving fluidly in the first place. In a hydrotherapy pool which has a temperature of 33-36 degrees, this is much easier.
At St Louis, we run weekly hydrotherapy classes with our in-house physiotherapist Joe Wallace-Ellis. Joe has seen many improvements in the range of movement, strength, flexibility and balance that our clients have developed as a result of doing weekly hydrotherapy classes.
Hydrotherapy classes can be arranged through your home care support plan so there won’t be any out of pockets expenses to you.
Who is hydrotherapy for?
Hydrotherapy is a therapeutic whole of body therapy that involves exercising in a warm pool. Everyone can do hydrotherapy.
If you are experiencing pain and stiffness in your back, hips, knees, shoulder or other chronic conditions causing pain such as fibromyalgia or arthritis, then hydrotherapy can help.
“Every class has a maximum of four people so there is the opportunity to provide attentive one on one help for each person’s condition. Clients will also help each other in the classes or they bring their care worker or a family member to the class who is welcome to get into the water to assist them,”
Joe - St Louis Physiotherapist
What does hydrotherapy do for mobility and general wellbeing?
Water removes the stress and pressure of gravity that you feel on land, which causes pain when you try and move your body past its limits.
“In the water, people can extend their abilities for movement beyond what they can do on land. They can place more weight on their limbs, they can test their balance without falling. Movement also encourages more lymphatic flow back to the heart which creates a better sense of overall wellbeing”
“There isn’t one person in the class who doesn’t have a smile.”
What are the greatest improvements seen with regular hydrotherapy?
Our clients have seen both physical and mental health benefits with hydrotherapy. They feel stronger, more balanced and confident in themselves, relying less on walking frames or other mobility devices.
The Benefits of Hydrotherapy
- Relieves pain and stiffness
- Improves strength and flexibility
- Improves movement and balance
- Increases muscle strength
- Improves posture and co-ordination
- Increases rate of recovery post surgery or injury
- Improves cardiovascular fitness
- Supports mental and emotional wellbeing through providing social connection and fostering friendships
“The other day I had a client say that she’d had lower back pain for thirty years and since she started hydrotherapy classes, she doesn’t have any more pain. In the pool we use a technique called sea-weeding. I’m holding and supporting my client’s head and trunk, allowing their limbs to flow freely which allows the whole lower back to loosen up, freeing up the joints,”
“Another one of my clients who used to fall regularly, has reported that they have not experienced any falls for three months since they began hydrotherapy,”
What our clients say after hydrotherapy classes
We always love their feedback!
I feel great
I feel confident
I feel loose in my legs and back
I don’t have any pain in my lower back
My pain has reduced or even gone
I feel less reliant on my walking aid
How do you begin Hydrotherapy classes as part of your home care support program?
Joe runs hydrotherapy classes every week in both Adelaide and Victor Harbor for one hour. Most clients attend once a week after consulting with your GP and other allied health practitioners involved in your care.
To organise hydrotherapy as part of your home care package, call your home care coordinator and they will send a request for a pre-screen. We’ll then create a tailored hydrotherapy program to suit your needs and inform your doctor for his/her approval. The program can be fully funded through your home care package.
Call St Louis Home Care Adelaide on 8332 0950 or St Louis Home Care Victor Harbor on 8552 1481 to find out how you can get started with hydrotherapy sooner than later.
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