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Intermediate

Evidence based hydrotherapy for various patient polulations.

EWAC Medical presents the state-of-science in aquatic therapy. Case related contents provide aquatic professionals with a comprehensive picture of current research that supports clinical reasoning and decision-making, problem solving and goal setting in aquatic therapy. The basis is “learning-by-reasoning-and-doing” or “think-pair-share” in order to develop skills of the aquatic professional.

These courses are certification courses (with examination) and will give in-depth training in order to apply the state-of-art aquatic therapy in:

pediatrics
neurology
musculoskeletal disorders and sports rehabilitation
cardio-respiratory disorders
metabolic disorders

Every topic will encompass 55 academic contact hours of classroom and pool training, accompanied by 20 hours of self-tuition (preparatory and additional).

The intervention tactics (methods) will be based on Halliwick®-Aquatic Therapy, The Bad Ragaz Ring Method®, Clinical Ai Chi®,, Aqua-T-Relax and AT-Fit, in cooperation with the Association IATF in Valens, Switzerland.
These methods will be customized to the topics presented in each course.

The core of each course will be one or several case histories, highlighting the translation from research evidence to every day clinical practice, using EWAC’s accommodation and equipment

Module contents in general: total hours

Content	Hours
self tuition > precourse reading of case histories etc	10
webcast watching and answering question	5
practical application of the intervention tactics	25
modeling and peer instruction (practice with participants)
patient demonstrations and treatments
theory related to the intervention tactics	25
clinical reasoning with goal setting based on the ICF	5
aquatic and diagnosis related land clinimetrics	5
general competences

Topics that are integrated in the contents and have not been described specifically as competences, have been summarized underneath:

At the end of each course, participants will be able to apply the relevant physiological principles of

– relevant guidelines, recommendations, classifications, position statements or core sets
– patient monitoring techniques and screening for aquatic red flags

The competences related to the intervention tactics are Halliwick®-AT (HAT) for adult patients:

Competences:
At the completion of the course the participant will be able to:

Describe the fluid mechanical and physiological principles of aquatic therapy
Relate HAT to the concept of evidence based practice and to the International Classification of Functioning, disability and health (ICF)
Find the relevant evidence at the internet and rate it’s quality
Follow the elements of clinical reasoning being taught in the course
Use features of motor control approaches during aquatic treatments
Recognize equilibrium problems of able-bodied and disabled persons
Handle people in water effectively, including entry and exit
Apply HAT with systematic desensitization principles
Apply the HAT exercises and activities for neuro-musculoskeletal patient populations at all levels of ICF
Design treatments programs for neuro-musculoskeletal patients
Apply HAT in fall prevention
Apply HAT as a massed / distributed therapy application
Use the Halliwick®-ICF assessment in water
Use proper modes for (balance) assessment on land
Connect HAT with land based treatment concepts

Halliwick®-AT pediatric course (in general with focus on CP)

Competences:
At the completion of the course the participant will be able to:

Describe the fluid mechanical and physiological principles of HAT
Relate HAT to the concept of evidence based practice and to the ICF-Children and Youth core set
Relate HAT to the relevant classifications (GFMCS, SCPE, DSM-V)
Find the relevant evidence at the internet and rate it’s quality
Use features of the motor control Neuro Group Selection Theory
Integrate HAT and the family centered approach
Recognize equilibrium problems of able-bodied and disabled children
Handle persons in water effectively, including entry and exit
Apply HAT from a sensory modulation perspective
Apply HAT with appropriate didactic principles
Teach with learning through games (as a non-linear pedagogy)
Apply the HAT exercises and activities for neuro-musculoskeletal patient populations at all levels of ICF-CY
Follow the elements of clinical reasoning being taught in the course
Design treatments programs for the (neuro)pediatric population
Use the Halliwick®-ICF and WOTA assessments in water
Use proper modes for (balance) assessment on land
Connect HAT with land based treatment concepts

The Bad Ragaz Ring Method®:

Competences:
At the completion of the course the participant will be able to:

Use the original arm, trunk and leg patterns
Relate the patterns to principles from PNF, functional kinetics, exercise physiology and fluid mechanics
Use PNF techniques (e.g. hold/contract relax, combination of isotonics and dynamic reversals) in selected patterns
Use principles of fine tuning and eccentric strengthening
Apply the patterns to neuro-musculoskeletal patient populations

Combined for Clinical Ai Chi®, Aqua-T-Relax, AT-Fit

Competences:
At the completion of the AT-Fit course the participant will be able to:

Present the principles of exercise physiology and neuro-endocrine metabolism involved
Asses work intensity, e.g. using the Borg RPE scale
Apply guidelines from e.g. the American College of Sports Medicine
Set up a shallow water circuit training
Teach simple deep water walking/ aquajogging
Apply aquatic plyometric training
Apply and adapt Aqua-T-Relax in a clinical setting
Describe the effect of influencing connective tissue by Aqua-T-Relax and Clinical Ai Chi®
Follow the basic Clincal Ai Chi® kata’s
Adapt the kata’s into challenging variations
Apply Clinical Ai Chi® in fall prevention

Included in all course will be passwords to additional internet resources as www.halliwicktherapy.org and www.badragazringmethod.org