If this condition is allowed to become chronic over too long a period of time, it can result in damage to the rotator cuff tendons and persistent shoulder pain. For a more detailed explanation of the shoulder's anatomy, I would recommend a review of the information and anatomical pictures in The Shoulder article recently published to this website. If you have further questions, I invite you to ask them on the sports medicine discussion forum, and others or I will be more than pleased to answer them. T hank you for your question Wendy. Hydrotherapy is the term most generally applied to the use of whirlpools in physical therapy.
Whirlpools come in a variety of sizes for different applications.
They can range from the very large Hubbard tank, which is large enough to accommodate a person's whole body in a lying down position to a tank small enough to accommodate an arm or lower leg. Whirlpools are used in varying degrees of temperature depending upon the desired result. For very acute injuries, a sprained ankle for example, a cold whirlpool may be applied in an attempt to reduce the swelling, internal bleeding and reduce the acute inflammatory response. The agitation of the water also aids in the massaging action of the water around the area of injury also promoting better circulation. Whirlpools can be applied in a number of rehabilitation settings.