Facility Spotlight: Select Physical Therapy

Select Physical Therapy is part of the Select Medical Outpatient Division, a nationally prominent, locally driven provider of outpatient physical rehabilitation. At their Dillsburg, PA center, patients have access to a HydroWorx 500 Series pool, which has proven to play an integral role in the rehabilitation process. Bryan Hoyt, a physical therapist, explains three key functions that have made the HydroWorx pool a fixture in the world of physical therapy.

Chronic Pain. “The lower stress environment of water for patients with severe arthritis in their knees, or with chronic pain is tremendous. For our patients who are complaining of chronic pain or back pain and fibromyalgia, the pool allows for physical therapy and exercise with less physical stress due to the buoyancy of the water.”

Progression. “I’ve also found that patients can sometimes progress faster in the water. We can be very aggressive with patients in the pool as compared to traditional land therapy. For example, we’re currently treating a patient with a significant injury who has a long history of working out. At first, he was skeptical about how the pool could help, but after just a couple of sessions in the pool, he thought he was ready to return to the gym. He tried working out on land, but realized he was not quite ready and now he’s even more of a believer in the benefits of aquatic therapy. We’re doing some fairly high-level core stabilization exercises in the pool that he definitely would not be able to do on land and his therapy is going great.”

More Referrals. “I oversee ten different facilities, but only our Dillsburg location has a pool. For that reason, we have doctors who are more likely to refer patients to this center because they need certain patients in that environment. We also are treating a pediatric patient who’s recovering from a knee surgery and his doctors want him to do physical therapy twice a week, in the pool one day and on dry land the other. Without our pool, we wouldn’t have him as patient and we wouldn’t be able to complete the same type of exercises. We’re not only helping people return to the activities they’re passionate about, but doing it earlier, thanks to aquatic therapy.”

Referrals are often increased when aquatic therapy is offered as an option for physical therapy. Download our tip sheet for tips on how to gain referrals for your PT clinic>>