
Lauren Turner
Physiotherapist
Aquatic exercise, or Hydrotherapy, is any exercise
performed in warm water. It is a form of exercise often
used in rehabilitation for patients with Musculoskeletal and
Neurological conditions, Chronic Heart and Lung disease,
and Cardiothoracic Rehabilitation. The e ects of buoyancy
of the water provides a feeling of weightlessness allowing
deconditioned individuals or those with significant pathology or disease to exercise in an environment with can end up with serious
less impact on the joints. Aquatic exercise can, therefor, often begin before
land-based exercise to assist in quicker return to function or sports. Being
submerged in water also assists in maintaining lower body temperature, therefore
allowing longer duration of exercise. Hydrotherapy has been used for thousands of
years as a safe form of rehabilitation under the supervision of trained healthcare
professional.
Benefits of Aquatic Exercise
- Low impact form of exercise
- Increase muscle strength, endurance, and joint mobility
- Relieve pain and muscle spasm
- – Therapeutic e ects resulting from the warm temperature of the water
- Improve balance and coordination
- – Effects of water turbulence result in challenges to balance that must be overcome
- Promote relaxation
- Improve quality of life
- Fun and social
- – Encourage and increase compliance to regular physical activity
- – Enhancing therapeutic e ects
Moderate beneficial e ects on pain, physical function and quality of life in adults
with musculoskeletal conditions.
Moderate quality evidence that aquatic exercise may have small, short-term, and
clinically relevant e ects of patient-reported pain, disability, and quality of life in
people with knee and hip osteoarthritis.
Low to moderate quality evidence relative to control suggests that aquatic training
is beneficial for improving wellness, symptoms, and fitness in adults with
fibromyalgia.
Aquatic exercise improve motor impairments in people with Parkinson’s Disease.
Additionally, it has low to moderately greater benefit than land-based exercise on
balance capacity, fear of falling and health-rated quality of life.