Advertisement After patients finished physical therapy, they were told they could continue aquatic or water therapy at Gundersen Lutheran or go to the YMCA. Bann, a second-year University of Wisconsin-La Crosse physical therapy graduate student, wondered if the public has access to other pools in La Crosse.
Her curiosity led to a class project with Jenna Thompson, another second-year grad student. The two designed a Web site to serve as a resource for area residents looking for a pool where they can do water therapy.
“Aquatic therapy is one of the emerging therapies, and people don’t always know where they can go,” Thompson said.
Thompson and Bann made a lot of phone calls to determine what places offered community access to pools. They found seven locations that offer pool access to the public — Gundersen Lutheran, Logan High School, UW-L’s Mitchell Hall, La Crosse Area Family YMCA-La Crosse and North, Days Inn and Super 8 Motel.
Their site, www.uwlax.edu/pt/community-involvement.htm, lists hours of operation, costs, pool size and depth, water temperature, accessibility and other operation information when you click on “Aquatic Therapy & Community Pools with public access.” There’s also a photo of each pool.
Thompson said she hopes to get feedback about other pools with public access.
“Aquatic therapy appeals to a lot of people, and we wanted our Web page to be a good resource for the community,” Bann said.
Bann and Thompson said the benefits of aquatic therapy versus traditional land-based exercises are:
According to the physical therapy graduate students, people who benefit from aquatic therapy are those with conditions such as:
They said people with a fear of water, open wounds, infections, incontinence, tracheostomy or heart problems should talk with their physicians before starting aquatic therapy.
“I’d suggest talking to your physician before doing aquatic therapy no matter what your condition,” Thompson said.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
