Pool Therapy - Your Breasts Will Thank You

Pool therapy has many benefits for people of all ages. This includes helping manage pain for patients who have osteoarthritis, chronic pain, post surgical patients and people who are looking to improve their overall fitness.

One group of people who may benefit from aqua therapy are patients who have undergone a mastectomy. A mastectomy is the surgical removal of one of both breasts either partially or completely. Common symptoms that women report experiencing after their surgery is discomfort, pain, tightness and stiffness of the shoulder, decreased overall function and strength on the affected side. Lymphedema is another common occurrence that can happen with post mastectomy patients. This can be described as having excess fluid that collects in the tissues post surgery that can cause swelling and irritation.

Other common symptoms that women may experience is the loss of positive self image, feeling less feminine, decreased motivation to exercise and depression.

One study found that aqua therapy classes for women who had received a mastectomy helped improve range of motion of the shoulder, help decrease swelling and lymphedema on the affected shoulder/arm and reduce overall pain post surgery. It has also been found that aquatic exercise can be a good way to minimize exhaustion and decrease pain caused my lymphedema in patients who have had a mastectomy (Cantarero-Villanueva et al., 2013).

Another study found that aqua therapy can help lower depression, anger and fatigue in older women in comparison to women who do not perform regular aqua therapy (Kim et al., 2015).

This low impact form of exercise can beneficial for everyone! So if you want to get back into exercising but are dealing with low back pain, a nagging shoulder injury or recently had surgery, please reach out to Labhealth and book with a health care professional and see what aquatic therapy can do for you!

Cantarero-Villanueva, I., Fernández-Lao, C., Cuesta-Vargas, A.I., Del Moral-Avila, R., Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, C. and Arroyo-Morales, M., 2013. The effectiveness of a deep water aquatic exercise program in cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 94(2), pp.221-230.

Kim, I.M., Kim, S.J., Park, H.R., Lim, J.H. and Kim, S.W., 2015. The long-term effect of aquarobics exercise program on physical function and mental health in elderly women. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 8(26), pp.1-12.