How can our aquatic therapy services help a child in your life?
Aquatic therapy (pool therapy) is a type of physical therapy that is performed in warm water. The natural properties of water offer children the opportunity to succeed at tasks they find difficult on land due to muscle weakness, muscle tone (the tension in a muscle at rest), inability to bear weight, or pain. The buoyancy of the water helps reduce body weight and allows children to move in ways they simply cannot move in on land. During aquatic therapy, children become more aware of their bodies, movement, and breathing in the water. Aquatic therapy is a fun environment and a natural motivator for children.
Properties of the aquatic environment allow focus on:
- Increasing muscle strength and endurance through water resistance
- Decreasing pain
- Allowing for partial weight bearing and ambulation through water buoyancy
- Strengthening respiratory muscles
- Relaxing muscles related to spasticity (abnormal muscle tightening) and tone to improve range of motion
- Promoting independence
COMMON DIAGNOSES
- Balance disorders
- Cerebral palsy
- Spinal cord injury
- Traumatic brain injury
- Muscular dystrophy
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Spina bifida
- Parkinson’s
- Scoliosis
- Chronic pain