Aquatic Therapy: SARS-CoV-2, a highly communicable novel coronavirus, differs from previous respiratory viruses in that human-to-human transmission can occur anywhere from 2 to 10 days before the individual develops symptoms of the disease now known as COVID-19. The severity of the disease ranges from asymptomatic infection and moderate upper respiratory problem to severe viral pneumonia.
According to current estimates, about 5% of individuals infected will require treatment in intensive care units (ICUs), including ventilation and life support. This means that the vast majority of people afflicted by Covid-19 will be ok with therapy at home or in hospital wards. Among the symptoms of Covid-19 are:
- Most common symptoms
- Fever
- Dry cough
- Tiredness
- Less common symptoms
- Aches and pains
- Sore throat
- Diarrhoea
- Conjunctivitis
- Headache
- Loss of taste or smell
- A rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes
- Serious symptoms
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Chest pain or pressure
- Loss of speech or movement
People who have had COVID-19 experience terrible lethargy, which can last for several weeks or even months after treatment. Although tests no longer show patients have the virus, most continue to experience exhaustion and an occasional cough for days, weeks, or even months later.
Even people with moderate symptoms are taken aback by the gradual return to a “healthy” baseline. SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus) can cause neuroinflammation of various systems throughout the body, leading in persistent weariness.
As physical therapists, we face several problems, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic. Working with and coaching people at various stages of recovery necessitates a thorough understanding of the ailment as well as the Rehabilitation process.
Physical therapy can aid persons with diminished strength in beginning to exercise more and gradually increasing their stamina. Physical treatment for COVID-19 patients, according to a 2020 research, intends to
- Muscle function should be restored.
- Restore the ability to breathe normally.
- Reduce the possibility of mental health problems as a result of limited mobility.
- Allow individuals to resume their usual lifestyles.
We, as Aquatic Therapists, have discovered marvels in treating patients with post-Covid-19 symptoms including as weariness, respiratory problems, malaise, and so on.
Physical therapists are now urged to include hydrotherapy into all types of rehabilitation, taking use of water’s physical qualities such as mass, weight, density, specific gravity, buoyancy, hydrostatic pressure, and surface tensile strength.
How Aquatic Therapy Helps Reduce Post-COVID Symptoms
- Because of its viscosity, water provides natural resistance to bodily motions and chest expansion. This speeds up the process of developing the respiratory muscles as well as other limb and trunk muscles.
- The properties of buoyancy and fluidity make motions simple and smooth.
- Water’s continual hydrostatic pressure on the body aids with circulation.
- The utilisation of an aquatic setting helps patients who have mobility, balance, or both issues on land to experience the capacity to move more freely and independently.
- The buoyancy also helps one to feel weightless within water since water absorbs the body weight, improving mobility and reducing the influence of gravity and resistance on bodily motions.
The usage of water restoration procedures has been steadily expanding as a consequence of the publishing of favourable outcomes obtained by utilising the physical qualities of water.
The relevance of the trunk in gait and posture execution has been extensively recognised. When contemplating the relevance of hydrotherapy in post-Covid-19 Rehabilitation, the effect of water immersion on the trunk is a therapeutically relevant modality. Water can thus provide a safe and effective rehabilitation setting for people suffering from weakness, weariness, discomfort, or respiratory problems.
Source: The article is written by Dr Dhwani Sanghvi, Orthopaedic Physiotherapist, AquaCentric Therapy Pvt Ltd.
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