Hydrotherapy for Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal conditions
Orthopaedic conditions affect the muscles, bones or joints of the musculoskeletal system. They can cause pain and make every day functional tasks very difficult, which could affect leisure activities, work or mobility and activities of daily living. Some orthopaedic conditions occur over time due to age related changes, and some suddenly as a result of an accident. Chronic musculoskeletal conditions, unlike trauma, tend to be progressive in nature. The cause of a chronic condition may due to one or many factors including genetics, age, or overuse with repetitive movement and loading of muscles and joints.
Some of the common orthopaedic conditions are:
- Arthritis, cartilage damage and joint replacements
- Fractures of bones, for example:
- Hip fracture following a fall
- Broken tibia following a football injury
- Sports injuries including:
- Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
- Quad tendon repair
- Hamstring tear
- Back pain or spinal conditions such as:
- Slipped disc
- Low back pain
- Spinal kyphosis or scoliosis
- Neck conditions such as:
- Cervical spondylosis
- Soft tissue strain or sprains
- Paediatric conditions
- Perthes’ disease
- Soft tissues/bony injuries
- Growth related musculoskeletal problems
The hydrotherapy pool can be the perfect environment to rehabilitate from musculoskeletal injuries caused by trauma, or to manage / improve the symptoms of a degenerative musculoskeletal condition. This is because the water provides:
- Warmth to reduce pain and muscle spasm making movement easier.
- Resistance and turbulence to allow you to strengthen muscles without using weights.
- Buoyancy to allow decreased weight bearing, particularly beneficial following lower limb fractures. This can also help with increasing range of movement in joints that have become stiff and difficult to move on land.
- Hydrostatic pressure to reduce oedema and swelling.
