Aquatic Therapy  Machines For  Professional Health Care Organizations

The Aquatic Therapy Source manufactures underwater exercise machines for institutional use by health care organizations such as hospitals, clinics and community based wellness centers. 

Our business specializes in the design and production of aquatic therapy machinery including treadmills, bikes and many other underwater exercise systems. All of our machines are made by a highly skilled craftsman at our manufacturing facility in the U.S.A.

We are a direct seller of our products worldwide. We have no dealers and each purchasing organization will contact us directly by submitting our form page. Our business has been in continuous existence since 1987, making us the oldest and most experienced maker of aquatic therapy machines worldwide. 

If your health care organization is planning or already operates a therapy pool, the Aquatic Therapy Source can provide your facility with state-of-art, freestanding, aquatic therapy machines that will greatly increase the effectiveness of your aquatic therapy program. 

A Brief Aquatic Therapy Primer

Water, the necessary ingredient for aquatic therapy is the ideal medium in which to exercise or rehabilitate the body. Water provides an environment, which reduces body weight by 90% when standing in shoulder depth water and thereby decreases musculoskeletal stress or impact on the body.

The warm water used in aquatic therapy also reduces spasticity and relaxes allowing individuals to move with greater mobility and less pain. Users gain the general benefits of exercise without suffering from the compressive and torque forces associated with the gravity of a dry land exercise setting.

There are many goals achieved through the use of aquatic therapy machines including: aerobic training, strength gaining and increases in endurance and flexibility. These machines allow most of these goals to be achieved simultaneously, making this type of equipment ideal for use by professional health care organizations.

There are other unique benefits derived from the use of aquatic therapy machines, such as the fact that it allows the muscles to be exercised in all directions. This is due to the fact that water resistance is 12 times greater than air resistance. The result for any specific exercise is that the muscles involved receive a more comprehensive workout and are not isolated as we find in typical dry land exercise routines.

For injured athletes, use of underwater fitness equipment allows them to continue exercising while they recover from their injuries.

Aquatic therapy machines are also ideal for persons suffering from arthritis, acute injuries, neurological disorders and stroke victims. All users benefit from the increased confidence they feel when they are in the water free from the pull of gravity. The structure of the freestanding machinery lends users a more secure means to attain balance and coordination that is superior than just "standing in the water" with the individual attempting to wave hand held or foot attached resistance devices.

In most circumstances, the controlled movement offered by these machines is more productive and effective for aquatic therapy than hand held and foot attached  devices, which is why many physical therapists chose this type of equipment as the primary treatment modality for their patients.

When evaluating freestanding underwater exercise equipment, several considerations are important to insure that the equipment will be useful and appropriate for its intended purpose.

To attain the non-weight bearing benefit (through buoyancy), that is the single most important factor in aquatic therapy, freestanding exercise equipment must allow the user to be as deep in the water as the pool will allow. The goal is for the user to be at shoulder depth whether the user is standing or sitting on a machine. The chest area of the body is the single most buoyant area and should be submerged to attain the greatest benefits. If the exercise machine does not allow the user to attain this depth or the pool is too shallow, then the benefits will not be as great. For example, there is a difference of 30% or more between a body immersed to the base of the neck and a body immersed waist deep.

The next important factor is the mobility of the underwater exercise machine. If a pool has multiple depths or a gradually sloping surface, then the ability to quickly and easily relocate an aquatic therapy machine has great advantages for attaining the ideal buoyancy for individuals of differing height. Tall individuals will attain the greatest benefits by starting their program in deeper water appropriate to their height.

Equipment mobility is also critical in multi-use pools where equipment may have to be relocated or even removed from a pool quickly and easily.

Another consideration is obstruction. Pool decks are generally accessible on all sides giving pool users easy access in and out of pools at any location. This is not only for convenience, but also, for the general safety of the all pool users. Will aquatic therapy equipment restrict in any way access to a pool and does it have the potential to cause individuals to trip on any machine-associated deck fixtures? The answer is yes if the equipment relies on a deck mounting system.

Design and material considerations are also important. It is well known by experienced pool operators that the use of stainless steel in pool components does not guarantee that corrosion can be prevented from occurring. Once corrosion begins on a stainless steel component, rust colored staining on the pool floor is inevitable. Also, stainless steel plates, angles and channels used in aquatic exercise equipment can be very user "unfriendly" as they present an unnecessarily hard and thin surface area that can come in contact with unclothed pool users.

Thermoplastics on the other hand, will not corrode in any pool environment and properly machined, they offer broader,  contoured surface edges that are friendly to touch and safer than typical stainless steel construction. Thermoplastic materials that are of equal strength to stainless steel are usually more expensive for the manufacturer to attain, but offer superior benefits.

What is unique about the machinery offered by the Aquatic Therapy Source, is that all of our equipment is designed to all of the above mentioned design parameters. We were the first true pioneers in the design and manufacturing of freestanding, thermoplastic underwater exercise equipment and we remain the only truly knowledgeable manufacturer offering this type of equipment. 

Our aquatic therapy systems are user friendly, due not require maintenance and are highly durable. The use of our equipment by professional health care organizations will assure that their patients and patrons are using the very best systems available.

The Aquatic Therapy Source offers systems tailored to pool usage. The multi-purpose gym is used in clinical settings where space is limited, or where a machine must be moved often to different locations in a pool to take advantage of differing water depths.

© Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. Products protected by U.S. and other International Patents with further  patents pending.  "Aquatic SuperGym", "Aquatic Therapy Gym ", "Aquatic Circuit Gym", "Portable Therapy Pool", "Micro Therapy Pool", and "See-Thru Therapy Pool" are trademarks.