Parkinson

Hydrotherapy benefits for parkinson patients.

Aquatic exercise provides benefits in the following areas:

• Training for daily activities
• Range of motion
• Strengthening
• Flexibility
• Balance training
• Coordination
• Aerobic training
• Postural training
• Fun

Water exercise provides the patient multiple benefits, which land based exercise doesn’t deliver. These Advantages are:

• Aquatic exercise provides movement freedom, thereby increasing strength and range of motion.
• Warm water can alter muscle tone and reduce pain.
• Increased tolerance for exercise because of the soothing effect provided by warm water.
• Muscles relax, lengthen and the stiffness reduces because of the water.
• The combination of the buoyancy or weightlessness and resistance in water improves muscular strenght and endurance.
• Aquatic exercise generates body awareness and enhances the posture. Becuase of the dynamic water environment the body awareness heightens and enhances motor control during waling.
• Slow moving water provides sensory feedback and a longer response time. This combination allows patients to practice their balance in a save environment.
• Aquatic exerxise provides an improved bowel frequency.
• Aquatic exercise decreases isolation and depression.
• Aquatic exercise provides a feeling of well-being.

Methods which can be used

• Halliwick
• Clinical Ai Chi
• Bad Ragaz Ring Method

Sources

Parkinson’s disease aquatic exercises, by Ann E.P O’Nihill, Carla Cothran, Barbara Habermann (2001)
Aquatic Therapy Versus Conventional Land-Based Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease”An Open-Label Pilot Study, by Jamile Vivas, Pablo Arias, Javier Cudeiro (2011)