How Does it Work?
- Aquatic therapy challenges coordination and balance.
- Certain exercises can be safely started sooner in water than on land, allowing earlier opportunities for challenging balance, strength and coordination.
- Human studies have shown that walking in water improves lean body mass and passive range of motion.
How Does it Help?
- Dogs and cats with limited mobility can resume weight bearing and gait patterning in the underwater treadmill much sooner than they are able to on land.
- As water depth increases, weight bearing decreases and the force on a patient’s musculoskeletal system is reduced. Walking in water makes it easier for a patient to support their body weight.
- Dogs and cats show improved range of motion in their joints when walking in water, helping us progress through recovery and return to function.
- Effort and resistance can be adjusted by the water depth, incline and use of flotation devices.
- The force applied to tissues by the pressure of water helps with proprioception, limb awareness, swelling and edema.
