WHY WARM WATER?

Warm water is the ideal medium for freeing the body. As the body gradually immerses,water is displaced, creating the force of buoyancy. This offloads the immersed joints progressively and with neck immersion, only about 15 pounds of compressive force is entered on the spine, hips, and knees. For a body suspended or floating in water, the downward effects of gravity are essentially counterbalanced by the upward force of buoyancy.

 This effect is of great therapeutic utility, allowing rehabilitative intervention when gravity-loaded joint movement is prohibited. Buoyancy-immersed objects have less apparent weight than the same object on land.

There is a force opposite of gravity acting on the object. This force is called Buoyancy, and equals the upward force generated by the volume of water displaced.

The buoyancy may be therapeutically altered simply by adjustment of the amount of human body immersed. Should partial weight-load offset be the desired effect, the immersion to the xiphoid process (the chest), 75% is offloaded. With immersion to the umbilicus (the bellybutton), 50% is offloaded.

 
Terry Shepherd, PT, DPT, DHSc