Salt Water vs. Fresh Water Therapy Pools

Saltwater pools have been commonplace in Australia for decades, gaining widespread acceptance in the US in the past 15 years.  Market competition and advances in technology have made these systems more efficient, self-cleaning, and less expensive, supported by water quality monitoring options.

Putting salt in an aquatic therapy and aquatic sports fitness pools is an alternative method of sanitation by converting the salt (NACL) into chlorine without the use of the typical commercial liquid or dry chlorines.  Most common saltwater chlorine generators use 3000-3500 parts per million of salt to water.  Teardrops are about 9000 parts per million, explaining why you can safely open your eyes under water with no irritation.

For aquatic therapy and aquatic sports fitness, saltwater pools add another healthy dimension to the healing properties of warm water.  Salt water has a silky feel, and will not dry out your skin like commercial chlorines.  Saltwater-generated chlorine will not ruin swimwear, bleach your hair, leave a white chlorine residue on your skin, and won’t sting your eyes or turn them red.

Another advantage to salt water chlorinators is air quality.  We have all walked into an indoor poolroom and been assaulted by the overwhelming smell of chlorine.  This smell is created by the off-gassing of chloramines produced by the reaction of chlorine and organic material in the pool water.  This gas is not only toxic, but long-term exposure to chloramines in high concentration can be deadly.  Salt water-generated chlorine eliminates the potential for production of chloramines and unhealthy air quality.

Maintaining saltwater pools includes some of the same procedures fresh water pools.  It is important to maintain water chemistry balance such as PH, total alkalinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium hardness, and conditioner levels.  There is no more cost of or storage of caustic chlorine chemicals.  Salt can be corrosive on certain metal components, stone products and concrete surfaces with continued exposure, which must be sealed or protected.

Saltwater chlorine generators provide aquatic therapy and aquatic sports fitness operators, clinicians and patients with a healthy alternative to the typical commercial chlorine sanitized fresh water pool.  To experience the healthy alternative of great water and air quality for your facility or aquatic center combined with the finest aquatic therapy pools on the market please visit www.visionaquatics.com.  For more information and pricing, you may contact Doug Gregory either at doug@visionaquatics.com or at 616.957.4819.

Productivity in an Aquatic Therapy Enviroment

Vision Aquatics Therapy Pool

Aquatic therapy as a preferred modality for physical therapy is not new. Paths to build a profitable segment of your therapy business are undergoing significant changes, though, and understanding the productivity of an aquatic therapy pool as investment is taking new shape.

Productivity is defined as the measure of outcomes relative to the investment required to produce those outcomes. In the world of aquatic therapy, these can be measured both by clinical outcomes and financial outcomes. Both are important in measuring effectiveness and to providing an investment foundation.

Most aquatic therapy reimbursement requirements are based on a ratio of one therapist to one patient, while aquatic fitness and exercise can support one leader to many customers. So, the productivity of the therapist to patient is similar from one aquatic therapy pool type to another (although the efficiency of the therapist in one pool design may vary from that of another). Most clinical productivity, then, will depend on the breadth or degree of aquatic therapy that is supported by each pool design. The greater the number of differentiated clinical workstations in a pool, the better the propulsion system, and the more user-friendly the pool is, the greater will be its clinical productivity.

Business productivity in an aquatic therapy pool stems more from dividing the total investment required to purchase, install and operate a pool into the number of patient visits the pool will support over a period of time. Factors impacting this equation include the overall size of the pool (always measure as water surface area), the size of the pool bottom that is flat (where patients can be comfortable when not using a workstation), the number of available workstations, the number of patients that can receive individualized therapy (important for reimbursement acceptance), and other factors. Figure a minimum of 25 square feet per patient. When determining the number of patients that can simultaneously use a pool, we suggest using your own calculations instead of relying on manufacturer data.

Our experience indicates that properly managed programs using a Vision Aquatics therapy pool most often will repay the sum of the cost of the pool, the cost of installation, and the costs of staffing and maintaining the pool in less than one year. This is true due to the high productivity designed into each Vision Aquatics therapy and fitness pool.

The productivity of your investment into aquatic therapy is important. We know of no other pool on the market that comes close to the productivity achieved in Vision Aquatics pools. Of course, there is a long list of other compelling reasons to invest in a Vision Aquatics aquatic therapy pool that you may want to check out. These state of the art aquatic therapy pools can be viewed at www.visionaquatics.com. Or for more information, you may contact Doug Gregory either at doug@visionaquatics.com or at 616.957.4819.

Propulsion in Aquatic Therapy

Basic aquatic therapy can occur in a wide variety of aquatic environments, from the local Y to a swimming pool to a custom therapy pool with built-in workstations. The benefits of aquatic therapy in these environments are well-documented and widely-supported. What is not so well understood by the physical therapy community and referring physicians are the benefits of propulsion in aquatic therapy pools.

Propulsion adds to the range of benefits that can be offered in this important modality. Two key benefits for the clinician are progression and challenge. Controlled water propulsion normally offers the clinician the ability to predetermine and set the level of resistance created by the propulsion system to the abilities of the patient, gradually increasing the resistance as the patient gains in their treatment. Like adding weights to a progressing patient on land, adding resistance through propulsion in water is an important tool in progressing patients in water.

Propulsion in aquatic therapy pools can also be designed to challenge patients through addressing the various planes and attitudes through which a patient can improve their balance, their strength, and their endurance.

Additionally, propulsion in aquatic therapy pools replaces the need for aquatic treadmills by supporting the physical therapist in gait work and exercise. While a recent study at a major university has been trumpeted to validate the use of aquatic treadmills, the study did not test treadmills against propulsion systems, and there was no control group. Other industry experts believe that aquatic treadmills do not support natural motion, and that supporting patient needs utilizing propulsion and at times deep water gait training is more effective. Treadmills also take up significant floor space in aquatic therapy pools, space that cannot then be used for other protocols.

Propulsion takes many forms in aquatic therapy pools currently being marketed into the physical therapy industry. Badu jets are commonly used in some popular aquatic therapy pools, but the basically blow aerated water in a general direction, are difficult to target to the area of need, and their range of effective application is limited.

Forms of paddlewheel propulsion are also commonly used. These systems normally provide propulsion over the broad width of the pool, subjecting everyone in the aquatic therapy pool to its forces, whether they need it or not. While often described as providing laminar flow, the uneven nature of this delivery system combined with agitated wave action and aeration do not equate with use of the term “laminar flow” from an engineering perspective.

The TheraStream™ range of propulsion systems applied exclusively in Vision Aquatics pools provide truly laminar flow propulsion that is easily controlled, cleanly targeted, and instantly reaching targeted propulsion levels. These state of the art aquatic therapy pools can be viewed at www.visionaquatics.com. Or for more information, you may contact Doug Gregory either at doug@visionaquatics.com or at 616.957.4819.

Vision Aquatics, The Most Innovative Aquatic Therapy Pool on the Market

Vision Aquatics’ state-of-the-art aquatic therapy pools are manufactured in the United States using full-time, in-house research and development resources – the only company in the industry with such capabilities. This research and development is the core of Vision Aquatics™, and helped produce the company’s greatest competitive advantage: the TheraStream™ and SportStream™ Current Propulsion Systems.

Vision Aquatics™ is raising the bar in the aquatic therapy pool industry, and quickly emerging as the market leader. Relying on the latest research and development and consulting with therapy experts in the field, Vision Aquatics™ is dedicated to developing the most effective, innovative aquatic therapy treatments, specifically for you and your patients, at a competitive price.

For more information, visit www.VisionAquatics.com