People in pain tend to avoid physical activity. Bad news! As time goes on, people who don't move, stretch, or exercise an injured area will experience more pain!

When you guard an injury, you decrease the flow of fresh blood to that area. Because blood flow stimulates healing, by limiting the use of an injured area, you are impeding the healing process. Additionally, this can trigger an increase in muscle spasms, which puts you in a pain cycle that will be hard to break.

So what is the solution? Try physical therapy, or more specifically, aquatic physical therapy.

One of the major benefits of aquatic therapy is that water makes you feel good. Water supports the weight of the body, which relieves stress to the injured area. In this environment, it is easier and less painful to begin the healing process. Because the water takes gravity out of the equation, people can begin therapy earlier; and therefore start feeling better sooner.

Another added benefit of aquatic therapy is that water provides an excellent source of mild resistance. This creates the perfect environment to implement a low impact stretching and exercise program to begin recovery.

It is important to keep in mind that we live on land and not in water. "After a patient has seen a decrease in pain and an increase in range of motion, they begin transitioning to on-land therapy," said Mark Bengtson, MPT and owner of Pinnacle Physical Therapy.

Who can benefit from aquatic therapy? People who experience neck or back pain, any joint pain in the shoulders, hips, knees, or ankles, pregnant women, or patients recently recovering from an orthopedic surgery.

Locally Pinnacle Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine has an aquatic therapy program with some of the best aquatic therapists around. Call (208) 777-4242 for more information.