Warm water therapy featured at Avera St. Luke’s new center

Avera St. Luke’s new state-of-the-art Physical & Aquatic Therapy Center in Aberdeen features the region’s only warm water therapy pool, and the benefits of therapy done in water can be combined with physical therapy done on the land, all in one location.

“This facility allows us to provide rehabilitation care that is unparalleled in the region,” said Leonard Suel, physical therapy director at Avera St. Luke’s. “This therapy center can be used to accommodate the rehabilitation needs of a wide variety of individuals in the northeastern South Dakota region.”

While physical therapists treat problems such as back pain and sports injuries on land, many conditions can be treated even more successfully in water. “The warm water therapy pool opens many new avenues that previously were not available for patients,” Suel said. Warm water has the ability to relax muscles and decrease pain, often important during rehabilitation. Water has buoyancy and resistance that can help individuals who are physically functioning at a lower level, as well as individuals who are high level athletes. Some diagnoses that can benefit from physical therapy in the warm water pool are low back and neck pain; post-surgical back, shoulder, knee and ankle problems; chronic pain; long-term neuromuscular diseases; recovery from multiple trauma; developmental delays in pediatric cases; balance problems and many others, according to Sherry McNulty, physical therapy coordinator at Avera St. Luke’s.

The staff of Avera Northern PT has also moved to the new facility at 721 First Ave. S.E., offering a variety of outpatient physical therapy that can complement warm water therapy.

The one-story therapy center is completely handicapped accessible. Avera St. Luke’s therapy center is attached to the east side of the new Northeastern Regional Health and Fitness Center , which houses the Aberdeen Family Y, but is a separate facility. No membership is required. While Avera St. Luke’s has access to the fitness center’s cooler pools for rehabilitation that requires a lower water temperature, and also shares family changing rooms and some mechanical equipment for the pools, the two facilities are independent of each other.

Avera St. Luke’s new facility allows for lots of flexibility in treatment. An individual might start with therapy in the warm water pool, then later receive land-based physical therapy care. “We are able to really provide a nice transition for patients who need care on land as well as the water,” said Ron VanDyke, physical therapy coordinator for the new center. “We still do all of the physical therapy for back and neck pain and all other diagnoses that would not require water.” Other services offered are therapeutic massage, occupational therapy using the warm water pool, and athletic trainers.

Those who start in rehab may work up to a long-term personal fitness program that could include the new health and fitness center. A fitness center discount is available for qualified patients who complete a course of physical therapy. “Much of rehabilitation focuses on getting an individual through the initial incident and recovery,” Suel said, “but there needs to be a focus on keeping people healthy so they do not routinely have to come back to see a physical therapist unless absolutely necessary.” It is appropriate for almost all individuals to be on some type of long-term exercise program, he stressed.

Warm water therapy pool features

Avera St. Luke’s warm water therapy pool maintains a temperature of 92 to 94 degrees. The 2,600-square-foot pool area features a comfortable 85-degree deck temperature and humidity between 40 and 50 percent. The pool’s main depth is between 3.5 and 4.5 feet. A mural has been hand-painted on one wall to provide a special touch to the pool area.

People can sit in the pool on a bench with jets that provide water massage. Several sets of easily accessible stairs help people get into the pool, plus a hydraulic lift is available that can transfer anyone in and out of the water. Exercise bars are located in the water. A physical therapist or occupational therapist assists the patient during rehabilitation in the pool, and ensures their safety. Patients don’t need to know how to swim to benefit from aquatic therapy. “Considerable care is taken to make sure that patients are comfortable in the water,” McNulty said.

For more information

Physical therapy is covered by most insurance with a physician’s order, but individuals can also choose to pay directly for services without a physician’s order. People don’t need a physician’s order to use the therapy center. If you would like more information about the center’s warm water therapy pool and outpatient physical therapy, call (605) 622-4055.

Avera St. Luke’s new warm water therapy pool is the only facility of its type in the region. A mural painted by Aberdeen artists Nick and Nicole Fischer enhances the environment, as a huge tree spreads out over the prairie, near a river that looks like it’s leading you right into the pool. The warm colors surrounding the summertime South Dakota scene come from a beautiful sunrise.