Hydrotherapy involves activity under water but there are different ways to exercise your pet in water. Hydrotherapy uses the properties of water to aid in muscle strengthening but also helps recover and improve mobility. Refer to our physiotherapy and hydrotherapy services (hydrotherapy) to learn more about the benefits of water properties during rehabilitation.
Regardless of what surgery, injury or condition we are rehabilitating, the main common aspect amongst many conditions is controlled exercise for the initial stages of rehabilitation. With this article you will learn about why we chose an underwater treadmill (UWT) over a swimming pool for rehabilitation cases.
Advantages of Using an Underwater Treadmill
The main advantage of using a UWT is the ability to choose the level of water we want to exercise the patient. Extensive research reports how specific levels of water will improve the mobility of certain joints while other levels of water will target more specifically muscle strength. This knowledge is crucial in rehabilitating your pet correctly no matter the condition.
For example, it is known that when a dog is submerged in higher water levels it decreases their weight bearing therefore reducing the pressure on joints as they walk forward, ideal for our most senior and arthritic pets. On the other hand, lower water levels will target increased mobility of many joints and can also increase the difficulty of the exercise.
Another advantage of using a UWT is the ability to control the speed. Many patients coming for rehabilitation will have been in restricted exercise for a while which will have decreased their cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength.
Controlling the speed, we can exercise them enough to work the muscles to improve their strength and improve their fitness without exacerbating the movement of the injured areas or affected joints and without causing extra damage. As they slowly improve and become stronger, the speed or time can increase to continue to challenge their physical health according to their fitness levels.
Moreover, the posture dogs adopt when they swim is very inverted and can tense up their backs and flare up spinal conditions quite easily, which is not recommended for dogs with sore backs.
In a UWT, the posture they keep throughout their exercise is neutral, which is ideal at any stage of rehabilitation. Using the UWT can also help them regain a more neutral posture overall and retrain a normal gait pattern for those dogs that have been leaning to and favoring one side more than the other, or those who have a wide or narrow stance.
In addition, it is easier for the vet physiotherapist or hydrotherapist to evaluate how the animal is coping with the activity on a UWT by looking at the rhythm of the stride, the mobility of specific joints and the posture from their backs while keeping an eye on the symptoms of fatigue. Essential aspects to monitor to tailor the sessions for each patient.
Finally, our more fit clients such as athletes or working dogs can still find benefit from choosing a UWT for conditioning exercise. Sessions can be tailored with the appropriate water level, speed and time to work on strength and fitness while also respecting their natural way of movement which will reduce the risk of injury and exacerbation of muscle strains.
