Cool pool plunge aims to heat things up

Braving the cold water at Dunedin’s Physio Pool during a ‘‘polar plunge’’ yesterday is pool...
Braving the cold water at Dunedin’s Physio Pool during a ‘‘polar plunge’’ yesterday is pool supervisor Gaye Davies (left) and hot aqua instructor Sharon Teavae.PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON
Dunedin man Alan Wise is eager to see the Physio Pool reopen as he had been using it to help with his recovery from a dislocated shoulder and broken arm.

The Dunedin pool was forced to close a month ago due to a broken heat exchanger — which keeps the water temperature at a toasty 35.5degC — and is yet to reopen.

A "polar plunge" into the now 16degC water — held just ahead of today, the shortest day of the year — took place at the pool yesterday to raise money for the new system, which is expected to cost about $13,000.

Pool supervisor Gaye Davies hoped to see a bigger turnout, but said about $400 was raised by those who did attend and donated "generously".

The pool was used by everyone from babies to the elderly, and played an important social and health role in many people’s lives, she said.

Despite the name, the physio pool was open to the whole community.

"There is a lot of people who will really be missing it," Ms Davies said.

Hot aqua teacher Sharon Teavae, who took the plunge four times yesterday, said it was hard to quantify the preventive healthcare that the pool provided.

It helped keep people out of hospital, but also gave pain relief to people who were on long waiting lists for surgery.

Mr Wise, who is retired, is one of those people.

He said he used the pool to recover from back surgery a few years ago, and had recently been using it to recover from a dislocated shoulder and broken arm.

"The hot water is a tremendous way to get things going again, and it certainly helped me to improve really quickly."

He had also enjoyed going there for social reasons.

molly.houseman@odt.co.nz

Comments

such a shame the health professionals of this town do not recognise the benefits of a hot pool especially for the elderly and sick but typical dunedin shunt elderly activities to the back ground because really what use are we all to the public purse.

 

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