Pool Therapy Research Paper
With an owner like one of Hollywood’s most stunning starlets and what was considered to be the world’s most beautiful woman for a point and time, you can only imagine that the Elizabeth Taylor Aquatic Center exudes the same amount of class and beauty she did. With a violet matted floor surrounding the exterior of the 7 ½ deep pool and therapeutic Jacuzzi and glass tiles along the white clean cut wall, the aquatic area of the therapy center resembles the sparkling violet colored eyes the movie star was known for. Through out her life, Elizabeth had many health issues, from being born with scoliosis; having two hip replacements, back surgery, and defeating several forms of cancer, it is not hard to see why Ms. Taylor and a few of her late husbands
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would invest into a facility and community that is aimed toward rehabilitation and the wellness of not just celebrities and star athletes, but regular everyday people. What is it just about aquatic pool therapy that makes the rehabilitation easier or better though? That is the question I am trying to answer. Why would Elizabeth Taylor invest her money into aquatic therapy rather than just buy a gym? How can water be used as a healing agent in the process of rehabilitation?
To answer this question, I turn to the people who make the rehabilitation process possible, and their patients. In my study I am looking at two therapists, Daniel (Dan) and Karen and two of their patients. Observing these two therapists and interviewing them and their patients I hope to gain some insight on what Ms. Taylor could have been looking for when she decided to invest in the rehabilitation center. The first participant I interview is Dan, one of my main two participants.
Daniel Lieb is a young European American male from mid city Los Angeles. Enjoying exercise and sports like volleyball and track for most of his life, it is fair to say he grew up with an athletic background. After college, sports became less pertinent in Dan’s life and he took on weight lifting to stay fit and in shape. Once suffering a fatal shoulder injury during lifting, Dan sought out pool therapy after a doctor’s recommendation and made a full recovery and found a new passion for exercise he had not had before. It was this significant injury in his life that made Dan interested in becoming a therapist, as he wanted to give someone the hope to recover and live again that his therapist had given him.
When interviewing Dan, I did not have much time, as I had to wait until he was able to spare time in between therapy sessions, but with twenty minutes and twelve suitable questions, you’d be amazed how much one can find out. In the interview, I tried to focus around my topic in asking questions that would answer my research topic, on how water can be used as a healing agent in the process of rehabilitation, without directly asking my research question. When interviewing, Dan surprised me with a few of his answers at to the benefits of pool therapy as opposed to land therapy, saying that he preferred land therapy because it is, “ cheaper and easier on the skin.” Being that I have only seen the positive outcomes of therapy when it comes to observing the progress of my other main participant, my father, and Dan’s patient, Michael, Dan was really able to give me insight on the downfalls of pool therapy. He explains to me how though he loves his job, as he can work with various people from all walks of life, he wishes he could spend more time with the patients and less doing paperwork. He also expresses how he knows how expensive it is to not just maintain the pool facility but for patients to afford pool therapy and work on the exercises at home, as most of his patients do not have pools. I found when starting the research process I did not think about the financial aspects of the rehabilitation process, but just the benefits of the therapy itself. We also discussed logistics of water therapy and how it can be easier and better for the patient due to the water’s weightless effects it can have on the body.
Being that Dan is a busy therapist and has little free time due to his line of work I thought an informal interview with semi-structured questions would be the most suitable. Interviewing after a therapy session I found also helped with the interview process, I believe, because the action of giving therapy was still fresh on my participants mind. Thus allowing him, to respond to questions faster without having to really think back and remember how certain exercises or situations made him feel. Dan was very insightful and knowledgeable when it came to the topic of therapy, and I greatly appreciated his honesty of which therapy sessions he preferred (water or land). Knowing my stance and bias I have on my topic on how I feel about how aquatic therapy is very helpful, I appreciated is honest opinions. I feel like this technique felt very natural and I will definitely be using the same technique when interviewing Karen, the therapy manager, while I might use something for person centered when interview the patients. I feel as if person centered interviews would be better because I can really get the patients perspective of how they feel about pool therapy. In Levy Hollan’s article, Person Centered Interviewing and Observation, he explains person centered interviewing as, “It seems that the opportunity to talk about, express, share, and construct aspects of one’s private world in conditions where this proves safe- away from immediate external communal censorship, in an interaction with someone who is sympathetic, nonjudgmental, disinterested, and trustworthy” (pg. 334). Building that type of relationship with the patient participants is very important I believe because it is their story to share. The insight I gained from Dan’s interview was very helpful as it helped me pin point the exact pros and cons of aquatic pool therapy.
While it was easy for me to see the benefits of therapy, and how water could help the body, it was harder for me to think or understand that not everyone may have access to pool therapy.
For me, the philosophy, if it helps you, why not do it, is something that I strongly believe in. However, being a young adult new to the financial realities of life, I easily overlook option and question of, what if you can’t do it? Whether it is due to financial reasons, lack of resources, or just not being in the correct mental state to push yourself, these can all be factors of why pool therapy might not work for you. I appreciated my interview mostly because I did not gain awareness on my topic but I began to think about why maybe pool therapy wouldn’t work for everyone and opened up another question of, why do doctors not prescribe pool therapy for all of those who can benefit from it? I want to look into this area of my research more so it will be definitely something I will be asking Karen in my interview. When interviewing my patient participants I am worried about letting my interviews get to personal, as it can cause a problem with both participants. With my father, I feel it can be a problem because `because he can get to personal due to our relationship and loose focus, while my other participant, Karen’s patient, I do not want these questions to get to personal to the point where they feel uncomfortable. As Hollan also mentions, “ it is deeply distorting not to work primarily in the respondent’s core language”(pg. 338). I want to work on making sure both participants take me as well as my research serious enough to where I get the information I need for my research. I will most likely try to use probing techniques for both interviews, like the silent and tell me more techniques, because I want to allow them to talk without feeling heavily influenced by my questions. My goal is for raw material so that I can truly decide if pool therapy is a real benefit or
not.
would invest into a facility and community that is aimed toward rehabilitation and the wellness of not just celebrities and star athletes, but regular everyday people. What is it just about aquatic pool therapy that makes the rehabilitation easier or better though? That is the question I am trying to answer. Why would Elizabeth Taylor invest her money into aquatic therapy rather than just buy a gym? How can water be used as a healing agent in the process of rehabilitation?
To answer this question, I turn to the people who make the rehabilitation process possible, and their patients. In my study I am looking at two therapists, Daniel (Dan) and Karen and two of their patients. Observing these two therapists and interviewing them and their patients I hope to gain some insight on what Ms. Taylor could have been looking for when she decided to invest in the rehabilitation center. The first participant I interview is Dan, one of my main two participants.
Daniel Lieb is a young European American male from mid city Los Angeles. Enjoying exercise and sports like volleyball and track for most of his life, it is fair to say he grew up with an athletic background. After college, sports became less pertinent in Dan’s life and he took on weight lifting to stay fit and in shape. Once suffering a fatal shoulder injury during lifting, Dan sought out pool therapy after a doctor’s recommendation and made a full recovery and found a new passion for exercise he had not had before. It was this significant injury in his life that made Dan interested in becoming a therapist, as he wanted to give someone the hope to recover and live again that his therapist had given him.
When interviewing Dan, I did not have much time, as I had to wait until he was able to spare time in between therapy sessions, but with twenty minutes and twelve suitable questions, you’d be amazed how much one can find out. In the interview, I tried to focus around my topic in asking questions that would answer my research topic, on how water can be used as a healing agent in the process of rehabilitation, without directly asking my research question. When interviewing, Dan surprised me with a few of his answers at to the benefits of pool therapy as opposed to land therapy, saying that he preferred land therapy because it is, “ cheaper and easier on the skin.” Being that I have only seen the positive outcomes of therapy when it comes to observing the progress of my other main participant, my father, and Dan’s patient, Michael, Dan was really able to give me insight on the downfalls of pool therapy. He explains to me how though he loves his job, as he can work with various people from all walks of life, he wishes he could spend more time with the patients and less doing paperwork. He also expresses how he knows how expensive it is to not just maintain the pool facility but for patients to afford pool therapy and work on the exercises at home, as most of his patients do not have pools. I found when starting the research process I did not think about the financial aspects of the rehabilitation process, but just the benefits of the therapy itself. We also discussed logistics of water therapy and how it can be easier and better for the patient due to the water’s weightless effects it can have on the body.
Being that Dan is a busy therapist and has little free time due to his line of work I thought an informal interview with semi-structured questions would be the most suitable. Interviewing after a therapy session I found also helped with the interview process, I believe, because the action of giving therapy was still fresh on my participants mind. Thus allowing him, to respond to questions faster without having to really think back and remember how certain exercises or situations made him feel. Dan was very insightful and knowledgeable when it came to the topic of therapy, and I greatly appreciated his honesty of which therapy sessions he preferred (water or land). Knowing my stance and bias I have on my topic on how I feel about how aquatic therapy is very helpful, I appreciated is honest opinions. I feel like this technique felt very natural and I will definitely be using the same technique when interviewing Karen, the therapy manager, while I might use something for person centered when interview the patients. I feel as if person centered interviews would be better because I can really get the patients perspective of how they feel about pool therapy. In Levy Hollan’s article, Person Centered Interviewing and Observation, he explains person centered interviewing as, “It seems that the opportunity to talk about, express, share, and construct aspects of one’s private world in conditions where this proves safe- away from immediate external communal censorship, in an interaction with someone who is sympathetic, nonjudgmental, disinterested, and trustworthy” (pg. 334). Building that type of relationship with the patient participants is very important I believe because it is their story to share. The insight I gained from Dan’s interview was very helpful as it helped me pin point the exact pros and cons of aquatic pool therapy.
While it was easy for me to see the benefits of therapy, and how water could help the body, it was harder for me to think or understand that not everyone may have access to pool therapy.
For me, the philosophy, if it helps you, why not do it, is something that I strongly believe in. However, being a young adult new to the financial realities of life, I easily overlook option and question of, what if you can’t do it? Whether it is due to financial reasons, lack of resources, or just not being in the correct mental state to push yourself, these can all be factors of why pool therapy might not work for you. I appreciated my interview mostly because I did not gain awareness on my topic but I began to think about why maybe pool therapy wouldn’t work for everyone and opened up another question of, why do doctors not prescribe pool therapy for all of those who can benefit from it? I want to look into this area of my research more so it will be definitely something I will be asking Karen in my interview. When interviewing my patient participants I am worried about letting my interviews get to personal, as it can cause a problem with both participants. With my father, I feel it can be a problem because `because he can get to personal due to our relationship and loose focus, while my other participant, Karen’s patient, I do not want these questions to get to personal to the point where they feel uncomfortable. As Hollan also mentions, “ it is deeply distorting not to work primarily in the respondent’s core language”(pg. 338). I want to work on making sure both participants take me as well as my research serious enough to where I get the information I need for my research. I will most likely try to use probing techniques for both interviews, like the silent and tell me more techniques, because I want to allow them to talk without feeling heavily influenced by my questions. My goal is for raw material so that I can truly decide if pool therapy is a real benefit or
not.