Proven: Aquatic therapy relieves back pain

In a study conducted in May of this year by a physical therapy clinic in Cleburne, Texas, a group of therapists wanted to determine the effects aquatic therapy has on patients in comparison to land-based therapy.

"Both are appropriate interventions to the treatment of back pain, however, there are separate benefits to both," says Mark Bengtson, MPT, CEO of Pinnacle Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine.

The study conducted was to investigate the effect of aquatic traction on spinal height and pain intensity when compared to land-based supine flexion positions for patients with low back pain and nerve root compression.

Twenty-eight men and 32 women participated and the treatment consisted of 15 minutes of walking followed by either 15 minutes of land-based therapy or 15 minutes of aquatic therapy to treat low back pain.

The Results: While both the aquatic and land intervention therapy produced significant decreases in pain and overall spinal height, the aquatic therapy intervention produced a greater pain relief in patients suffering from low back pain and nerve root compression.

If you are suffering from back pain and are facing the decision of which treatment options to choose, consider a facility that offers both aquatic and land-based physical therapy. The benefit of choosing a facility with both treatment options has been proven in the above study to give you the best outcomes with your pain.

Pinnacle Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene offers both aquatic and land-based physical therapy. Pinnacle's patients received help from a clinical staff with a combined total of 80 years of physical therapy experience. It is no wonder Pinnacle has been voted the best physical therapy clinic in North Idaho by the North Idaho Business Journal two years in a row. Give them a call at (208) 777-4242 or (208) 665-2000.