What is AquaSonix Therapy?

AquaSonix Therapy is an innovative treatment program combining sound pressure waves with low impact exercise in a warm water pool. It's a therapeutic water program, a new healthcare service.

Programs are held throughout the day and early evening in pools located in hospitals, community centres, long-term care and retirement facilities.

The standard course of therapy is fifteen 45-minute sessions. The treatment protocol is two to three sessions per week with a minimum of one day in between sessions. A certified AquaSonix Therapist leads participants through the program. The pool is heated from 30º to 34º centigrade (86º to 93º Fahrenheit).

How do the sound pressure waves work?

The sound pressure waves generated by the AquaSonix medical device are believed to work in three ways to provide pain relief and relax muscles.

1. Sound pressure waves stimulate mechanoreceptors in the skin which in turn communicate with the brain thus blocking any other message from getting to the brain - including pain. This is referred to as the gate control theory of pain.

2. They also create an exercise effect in the muscles by gently vibrating the muscle fibers: this effect encourages the production and release of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers.

3. Finally, sound pressure waves can increase cell membrane flow and blood circulation, resulting in further pain reduction, muscle toning and relaxation.

The illustration below shows how the sound waves block the pain message from an arthritic knee:

How can exercise in warm water help me?

The therapeutic value of water-based exercise and heat are well-established.

According to numerous quality studies, regular physical activity not only maintains muscle tone and helps to improve function, but also induces the production of endogenous opioids – endorphins and other natural painkillers.

Water is a great place to exercise gently. The buoyancy of water reduces your body weight. When immersed in water to the upper chest level a person’s weight is reduced by 75%. So if you weigh 150 pounds, in water your limbs only have to support 37.5 pounds. Stress on joints, bones, and muscles is kept to a minimum.

Heat can provide pain relief and also reduce stiffness and increase flexibility. In warm water pools the elevated heat helps relieve pain from stiff joints or injured limbs.

Because water provides resistance to movement, pushing to move through it can strengthen muscles and improve your range of motion. In effect, in water, you get medical benefits similar to land exercise without stressful jarring or pounding.

And if you have osteoarthritis or a related arthritic condition, or muscle aches and pain and stiffness; exercise in water can: