In an article in Pediatric Physical Therapy in 2009, researchers found that all four children in a small study displayed significant improvements after completing an aquatic therapy program. Two children had cerebral palsy, one had Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, and one had Prader-Willi Syndrome. They were between the ages of 2-19 years and completed varying intensities of aquatic PT. Several of the children were also recovering from injury or surgery. Most also attended land-based physical therapy sessions to some extent during the study. All displayed significant improvement in several areas, such as gross motor skills, range of motion, strength, walking speed, endurance during activity, improvement towards a specific goal, etc. Not only did the children improve in their function, but their therapists noticed that they had improved attendance and enjoyment during aquatic therapy sessions! There are many other studies that also show similar improvement for different types of children. More studies are needed to continue investigating all the benefits of aquatic physical therapy for children.
Take a look at the article here… http://journals.lww.com/pedpt/Abstract/2009/02110/An_Aquatic_Physical_Therapy_Program_at_a_Pediatric.12.aspx
Fragala-Pinkham M, Dumas H, Barlow C, Pasternak A. An Aquatic Physical Therapy Program at a Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital: A Case Series. Pediatr Phys Ther. 2009;21: 68–78.
TheraSWIM 