Hydrotherapy simply describes a form of therapy involving water. While this term can encompass the internal and external use of water in either of its forms (steam, ice, fluid), this blog will discuss the benefits of movement within a warm, chlorinated fluid environment. As much as we’d love to blow steam in your face and let you drink the hydro water for therapeutic purposes, it’s not within our scope of practice as physiotherapists. The following is only a selection of benefits hydrotherapy can offer:

Movement within a fluid environment is often prescribed to people who could benefit from exercise in a low-load environment. The buoyancy of water helps joints move to their end of range easier while placing less downward pressure across their cartilage-lined surfaces. For this reason, it has become a popular form of therapy for post-operative joints, back pain, and arthritis.

A fluid environment is also more provides a greater resistance to movement due to its viscosity. The resistance a fluid provides is inversely proportional to how fast you want to move through it (remember, only half a meter of water can stop a bullet). This is good news for athletes recovering from sports injuries, as they can train power through high-velocity movements at an earlier phase of rehab allowing for an optimised recovery.

To top it off, hydrotherapy is performed in warm water! Performance Edge Physiotherapy use a pool running at 32 degrees Celsius. Warmth provides several positive effects over the body, ranging from pain relief, increased joint mobility, and reduction in tissue stiffness. If you’ve ever felt stiffer during the colder months or in the morning when you’ve just gotten out of bed, this may be due to the temperature of your soft tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia). When your body warms up, your movement frees up – this is also why people like to retire in Queensland or Florida. After a few minutes in warm water, people often find they can move beyond ranges that were previously painful, allowing for a return to pain-free movement and function.

Utilise the many benefits of hydrotherapy as a part of your rehabilitation program at Performance Edge Physiotherapy.