Introduction to Hydrotherapy

What is Hydrotherapy?

Hydrotherapy is any activity performed in water to assist in rehabilitation and recovery from serious injury or post-surgery.

Hydrotherapy as it’s also known, involves special exercises that you do in a warm-water pool. The water temperature is usually 34–36ºC, which is warmer than a typical swimming pool.

It is a form of exercise in warm water and is a popular treatment for patients with neurologic and musculoskeletal conditions.

The goal of this therapy are muscle relaxation, improving joint motion and reducing pain.

How does hydrotherapy help?

Hydrotherapy can help you in a number of different ways:

• The warmth of the water allows your muscles to relax and eases the pain in your joints.
• To relieve pain and increase the range of movement in your joints.
• To provide resistance to moving your joints.
• Strengthen weak muscle groups.
• Improve co-ordination.
• Improve posture.
• Improve balance.
• Stretch tight/shortened/high tone muscles.
• Accelerate the development of gross motor skills.
• Reduce pain, muscle spasm and involuntary movements.
• Helps alleviate water retention.

What to expect from hydrotherapy?

Your physiotherapist may suggest a course of 2 times a week for 45-minute/ sessions of hydrotherapy. These may be group sessions, but sometimes with people who have similar conditions. However, the exercises suggested for you will still be personalized.

What does hydrotherapy treat?

People with several conditions can benefit from using water in different forms and at different temperatures to feel better. Hydrotherapy can provide symptomatic relief to people with the following conditions:

•  Osteoarthritis.
•  Post-surgery (knee replacement, Ankle surgery, post ACL/PCL reconstruction, Spine surgery)
• Fibromyalgia.
• Parkinson’s disease.
• Neuropathy.
• Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).

It’s important to remember that hydrotherapy doesn’t cure any of these conditions. It shouldn’t take the place of any treatments or medications your healthcare provider prescribes you. In most cases, hydrotherapy helps people feel better by temporarily relieving pain, stiffness and swelling and it improve their activity daily living by strengthen their muscle.

It’s never a bad thing to find a safe way to feel better, but you shouldn’t expect hydrotherapy to cure any condition especially more serious chronic diseases.

Hydrotherapy and physical therapy	Hydrotherapy and pregnancy	Hydrotherapy and weight loss

Hydrotherapy can also be a good supplement to physical therapy as you recover from an injury or surgery. Moving in water provides a low-resistance way to exercise safely. You’ve probably heard of water aerobics or swimming as a great option for people who experience pain from other types of workouts.

Hydrotherapy has shown to be beneficial for some pregnant people.

One study found that pregnant people with high blood pressure might be able to reduce their risk for complications like preeclampsia (hypertension) with regular hydrotherapy sessions.

Hydrotherapy on its own doesn’t cause, stimulate or improve weight loss.

However, exercise plans that include working out in water can help you lose weight and improve your overall health.

You don’t need to be able to swim to benefit from hydrotherapy. Although swimming is also a good form of exercise for arthritis. The pool is quite shallow so you can exercise at the depth that suits you.

There will be a few steps down into the pool, but if you have trouble with steps there’ll also be a mechanical chair to get you in and out of the water. There will be a rail around the sides of the pool for extra support if you need it.

Once you’re in the water, a physiotherapist will take you through a series of exercises that are suited to your needs, strength and mobility. Usually the focus is on slow, controlled movements and relaxation.

Because the water provides support you may feel that you can exercise more than you normally would, so be careful not to overdo it.

However, it’s quite normal to feel tired after a hydrotherapy session.

Albert Anak Aba
Assistant Rehabilitation Manager