Water therapy

[Noki4]

I am a huge advocate for water therapy or some call it aqua therapy. I have been able to utilize this therapy to help improve my balance, it helps with fatigue and it seems as if it gives me more energy and the ability to be able to move around more with less pain.                                                                                                                                   The sad part is that my insurance will only pay for a limited number of visits and the only way in my area that I could continue on a regular basis is to pay for a gym membership to the place that has the heated pool.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Living with pain can mean limited income and a gym membership is usually not high on the list of things that one needs. One of our local hospitals recently added a pool and I am hoping that they will open it to the public so I can resume water therapy on a regular basis.

[Dionetta Hudzinski]

Noki4, I am a big advocate of water therapy. It has so many benefits, relaxation, pain relief, increased flexibility, decreased feelings of isolation, increased socialization, increased stamina, weight loss etc etc.
In our small town we have 2 public pools one inside that operates in the fall, winter and spring for $2/visit. and one outside that operates in the summer for the same cost.
I got lucky when I went on Medicare because now my Medicare advantage plan pays for my membership to the Athletic club. I can not go anytime of the day or night and use the pool which is warmer water.
Another option is to contact one of the Hotels with pools and see if they would give you a good deal on using their pool during the day. most of these pools sit idle most days.
I also think we should be contacting insurance companies to include this benefit in their policies. It is preventative care, and it is treatment for those in pain and an essential part of an exercise program for anyone with back and/or joint pain. Individuals on DSHS/COPES in WA can get a month’s pass to use the public pool if it is recommended as part of their treatment plan.

Good luck, hope you can get to use the pool more often in your area…it is so beneficial.

[TPC_YaYa]

I have also utilized water therapy and what a wonderful therapy it is. I am in the same boat as Noki4, my insurance will only cover a set number of trips. I cannot afford a gym membership so it is frustrating to go for the trips that the insurance covers and then to have to stop.

[Dionetta Hudzinski]

It is so sad that the treatments that work for most people in pain are not covered by insurances. but the big invasive and expensive treatments are covered whether the procedure is appropriate for the individual or not. I think this is an area that needs to be addressed locally, state wide and also nationally.

[Teresa Shaffer]

It is totally heartbreaking to start and just about the time you are seeing wonderful results you have to stop. I agree Dionetta, the insurance will cover those expensive injections but not continued use of a heated pool where a person gets the most benefit from.

[Dionetta Hudzinski]

one of our Physical therapy offices has a heated pool for aquatic exercise and water walking. After My recent pain episode I was referred to them and I really saw the benefit of the nice warm heated pool. the Athletic club is OK…not as warm because of the swim teams that use the facility…so they keep it cooler for them but after you get to the deeper end and start moving and do some warm up exercises it is OK.
One of our Hospitals put in a pool a few years back which was open to pain patients but then for no good reason the stopped and filled it in and opened another silly clinic for psychologists to work with pain patients. which shows just what they think about chronic pain.

[petmom1]

Wow, how frustrating to hear. I found that water yoga was a powerful experience. The water is warm and getting into the poses were much easier when not working against gravity. The relaxation and breathing at the end (using water noodles) was the best part. Placing one under your neck and armpits with the other under your knees allows you to be cradled as you float. When you breath, your body begins this gentle rocking. I felt like I was a baby in a cradle———so great!

[Dionetta Hudzinski]

Petmom…I am with you on that. Water is one of the best vehicles for exercise, relaxation etc. Love the feeling of weightlessness. AND I think this is one of the many therapies we need to work on getting more available to people in pain. it is a relatively cheap therapy when you look at the cost of others that do not work as well.
Where would you start? the insurance companies? Health care facilities? Dept of health?

[Noki4]

My insurance will only allow so many visits, so I think one would start at insurance companies.

[GradStudent75]

I had no idea that insurance covered this type of alternative treatment or that this treatment even existed until I read your posts. Any physician I’ve ever talked to said PT and or pain management, i.e. pain medication, were the only options for chronic back pain.

[Micke Brown, BSN, RN]

Sadly, I am not surprised. We have a long way to go until the medical community (as well as the insurance industry) learns more about and promotes multi-modality, patient-centered, relationship focused pain care. It sounds like the physicians you spoke with are not practicing nor supporting integrative medicine.

[Noki4]

GradStudent75,

I am happy that this posting about water therapy gives you another option of treatment to speak to your providers about. Water therapy is what allowed me to get out of the wheelchair and walk again.
My insurance sadly will only pay for a few sessions a year and it is heartbreaking because just when I am really starting to notice the huge difference in my pain levels, my energy levels and over-all I just feel better, I am forced to stop due to insurance no longer paying. I am searching for a way to be able to start water therapy again and be able to continue it on a weekly basis all year round. If and when I find some where I will be sure to share.

Noki4

[FredFriend]

When I was unable to walk on land I discovered that I could walk in the pool. In the summer it is easy to pop next door to my neighbors’ house and spend 30 minutes walking around their pool. Just making laps around the perimeter with the varying depths. Very soothing as well as being exercise. Still haven’t found an affordable indoor pool for winter time in my area. Still hopeful. Still looking. Looking forward to the warm spring weather so that I may get back into the pool for a cooling walk.

[Author]

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