Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy involves stimulation and gentle exercise in warm water at a constant temperature of 32 degrees Celsius. Hydrotherapy pools tend to be purpose-built with a constant or very gradual water depth of around 1 metre. Pools usually incorporate multi-sensory equipment such as lighting and sound to stimulate the senses.

Hydrotherapy offers tangible benefits to the health and wellbeing of children and young people with a range of disabilities and health conditions:

• The warmth of the water has an effect on the individual neuro-muscular junctions, which results in decreased muscle tone and decreased spasticity.

• The buoyancy of the water is used to assist movement of joints, which is either more difficult or painful on dry land.

• Movement in the water and water pressure helps to reduce residual lung capacity for children and young people with chest problems. This enables more efficient lung function and reduces the risk of chest infections developing.

• Creating turbulence around an extremity (i.e. arm or leg) can increase their awareness of the limb and help with mobility – both in the water and later on dry land.

• The multi-sensory environment helps stimulate the senses while calming children with sensory and learning difficulties.

Hydrotherapy is suitable for care and therapies to children and young people with complex needs and vision impairment. Additional needs support include physical disabilities, multi-sensory impairment, significant learning difficulties and disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders, additional medical and health needs (including long-term ventilation or life-threatening or life-limiting conditions), and emotional and behavioural difficulties.

All children and young people who are using the hydrotherapy pool have benefitted:

• Young people who are normally in their seating systems in their wheelchair for a lot of the day can experience freedom of movement in the pool.

• Others who don’t move much on dry land become active and really enjoy moving around the pool.

• Young people who have very limited movement and struggle to communicate when on dry land are able to vocalise or move their arms to indicate preferences whilst in the water.

• Passive physiotherapy programmes can be difficult to tolerate on dry land, but in the water, young people with tight muscles and joints are much happier when their muscle stretches are incorporated into a fun or relaxing time in the pool.