Aquatic exercise advances recovery from

Paediatric (Children) Conditions


At Aqua-Physio we commonly treat children for:

  1. Trauma – This may be from an accident or sport’s injury causing injury to soft tissues or broken bones. This may have resulted in orthopaedic surgery and/or management in a plaster cast for a period of time. Patients then come to us to get moving and walking again.
  2. Overuse Injury. Children are very vulnerable to sports injuries due to the physiological process of growth. A child’s skeleton consists of growth zones at the end of their bones and the tolerance of these growth plates can be exceeded by repetitive loading in sports. This often occurs during growth phases, causing pain with activity and stiffness post activity. Common conditions can have unusual names or terminology such as Osgood Schlatters, Sinding Larsen Johansson, Osteochondritis Dissecans (knee problems) and Severs (heel/achilles).


What are the benefits of Hydrotherapy / Aquatic Physiotherapy in treating children’s injuries?

Fracture Overuse
Decrease pain whilst recovering. Ability to keep exercising without loading the tendon/bone.
Decreased Swelling from inactivity of a joint. Activity modification leading to reduced pain.
Restoration of full range of movement especially after a plaster cast. Advice on activity modification but whilst keeping active.
Gradual Muscle strengthening and weight bearing. Maintaining CV fitness ready for return to sports without drop in form.
Fun environment for children! This can help with compliance to recovery exercises. Controlled stretching of growing muscles in warm water.
*REDUCING TIME SAT AT HOME ON ELECTRONICS AND NOT BEING ACTIVE!*

Sarah Jones (SDR)

Our son has cerebral diplegia (palsy) and last year he had an operation (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) which then required him to undergo a lot of therapy.  One of the recommended therapies was hydrotherapy.  We were very lucky to find Aquaphysio down the road from where we lived.  We booked an appointment and have been going ever since, which is now over a year.  Our son, when asked what his favourite therapy is, shouts hydro. 

His physio at Aqua, is amazing.  She is so patient and nothing is ever too much trouble.  She makes his sessions fun and without realising it our son is working very hard.  The improvement has been significant.

John is always willing to help.  The pool has a very good feeling and somewhere our son feels very comfortable going.

We would have no hesitation in recommending Aquaphysio to anyone who is looking for a hydro centre and especially someone who is looking for somewhere that accommodates children.

Take a look at our Case Studies

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Here is a young patient who suffered a tibia fracture in his right leg and was able to strengthen in the pool and get back to normal activity:

Paediatric fractures we see commonly:

  • Greenstick type fractures of the long bones, normally the shin or thigh due to trauma and not involving the growth plates.
  • Acute growth plate injury. 15% of all fractures in children involve growth plates and get diagnosed as a “Salter Harris” fracture. These may be managed surgically or with a reduction in load and movement due to dangers of interruption to the growth plates.
  • Avulsion Fractures – these are at the site of where the tendon inserts into bone, in adults we would tend to tear the tendon or muscle, in children we tend to see a tearing away of the bone.

Other Conditions:

Perthes – A childhood condition that affects the blood supply to the head of the hip. During recovery which can take a couple of years loading to the limb needs to be reduced. Aquatic physiotherapy helps to maintain range of movement and muscle strength whilst reducing joint forces.

Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis is a hip condition that occurs in teens and pre-teens when they are still growing. It involves a slipping of the head of the hip bone through the growth plate and often requires surgery to stop the head slipping further. We see these patient’s post-surgery where they have a screw inserted to fix the growth plate and they have restricted weight bearing on elbow crutches. We can use the water to strengthen the hip and leg muscles, improve their range of movement and maintain fitness.

Scheurmann’s Disease is related to abnormal spinal growth in adolescence and causes wedging of vertebrae usually in the upper back. Aquatic Physiotherapy can assist with upper back mobility and exercise.

Scoliosis – sideways curvature of the spine, Aquatic Physiotherapy can help in the stretching strengthening programme, but can also be used after surgery if this is required to help regain function and for pain relief.

Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy – This is a neurosurgical procedure that is commonly performed in children with Cerebral Palsy to reduce spasticity in their limbs. Aquatic Physiotherapy after this surgery aims to improve lower limb functional and muscle strength.

Call us today   020 8330 6777

View all the conditions we treat

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