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Beth
has rheumatoid arthritis, this has greatly affected her ability to walk
with devastating, life changing consequences, leading to seized
contracted muscles, spine problems, reduced mobility requiring the use
of a wheelchair. Over a period of time this has led to muscle weakness,
an inability to stand and major balance problems. Beth
was given exercises to do by an osteopath, but these unfortunately
proved to be problematic, causing problems in themselves, and were of no
use. However, Beth has found that many of these exercises and more are
practical whilst in the hydrotherapy pool, where balance is assisted,
and the risk of falling is negated. Confidence can be a major issue when
one’s balance is ruined, fear of falling and the damage this can cause
are a great obstacle, and Beth has found the pool removed these
obstacles from her path forward in her pursuit of recovery. Since
using the hydro-therapy pool, Beth has regained some muscle mass and
function, was able to lay flat in her bed after only a few weeks, is
able to walk more steadily and reliably – enjoying an increased
cardiovascular function in the process – a benefit many of us could
use! This has enabled Beth to control body weight and health issues
often associated with reduced mobility. It seems often that when
mobility is reduced – one needs to exercise to regain that mobility
– but the mobility to do the exercise is not there… a terrible
contradiction, one which a hydro-therapy pool is able to ease, thus
enabling a positive, constructive avenue of recovery. Beth
also feels strongly that there have been beneficial emotional and mental
aspects of using our facilities – a feeling of weightlessness, being
free of restraints for a while, combined with a sense of community with
peers, helping to alleviate the sense of isolation that is often a
factor of illness. Beth
says that exercises in water are painless – safer – that she
experiences a great increase in circulation, very noticeable J after sports physio and a pool session – Beth has tried all other
treatments and feels that this combination is best Beth
first began to experience difficulties with arthritis in the early
90’s, after which the condition began getting restrictive around
‘95, began ‘taking hold’ as Beth puts it. She started using our
facilities three years ago in November, and experienced distinct
benefits within six weeks, coming just twice a week, using only the pool
with no other treatments at that time, it really is a very good
timeframe to be experiencing results. When
Beth first began attempting to move around the pool with a float, she
was unable to propel herself forward, being unable to generate enough
force to move her forward. This was complicated by that fact that Beth
was unable to swim, and had a long standing fear of water, her fear of
falling due to her lack of balance and so on. Now
Beth is able to move around the pool with a float. As
Beth began to regain the ability to walk, she found that she was still
very unstable, and that even a mild wind was able to knock her over, but
she is glad to say that today she is able to walk in even a moderate
wind, with increased balance and confidence. Beth
is overcoming her obstacles with a great resilience and good humour,
bringing a smile to our facilities, which we continue to be grateful
for. Thanks
Beth J This is Beth in Spa reception and in the pool receiving treatment from Steve - soon to have an article of his own here.
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