First in. “To me, the water is healing,” said Rhonda Barnes, who was the first patient to use the new Winona Health therapy pool at the Y.
Healing hastened with a bluff view
WINONA, Minn. – Rhonda Barnes was first to take the plunge at Winona Health’s rehab pool at the new ay next tp the hospital. Well, “plunge” may not be the right word. Barnes suffers chronic arthritis. Barnes starts her routine by lying back in the water and “feeling peace and relaxation.” The view of snow-crowned bluffs and Sugar Loaf helps. With aquatic therapy she gets stronger, she said. Barnes’s looking forward to gardening this spring. “I feel such relief in the pool,” she said. “I feel almost weightless, and that makes it easier to exercise and strengthen my muscles and move my joints.”
Water resistance, buoyancy as therapeutic tools
Winona Health Rehabilitation Services is now at the new Winona Family Y, 902 Parks Avenue. Lucas Barbknecht, a doctor of physical therapy at Winona Health, said aquatic therapy uses the natural therapeutic qualities of water, resistance and buoyancy, to create an ideal environment for exercise for some patients. “It can be used on its own or in combination with a land therapy program to help patients get the best outcomes whether they are recovering from an injury or dealing with a chronic condition such as osteoarthritis,” he said.
Pool treatments
Aquatic therapy can help:
> Improve the range of motion.
> Decrease joint stress.
> Build strength and muscle.
> Reduce pain.
> Decrease swelling.
> Increase blood circulation
Referrals. Lucas Barbknecht, chief physical therapist, said referrals for receiving preventive or rehabilitative therapy should come from a healthcare provider. Details: 507-457-4329.