In our desire to incorporate additional therapies into our work to alleviate the conditions of the children and young people we care for, we have turned to hydrotherapy.
Hydrotherapy is a therapeutic tool for children and adults with physical disabilities and developmental issues. Water and movement in an aquatic environment help improve muscle tone and joint range of motion, strengthen musculature, and better concentration, coordination and balance.
In Bulgaria, there are almost no specialists in this field and this gave us the incentive to organize training for rehabilitation professionals in hydrotherapy. Daniela Sadikova, a doctor of kinesitherapy, founder of SC SHARK and co-founder of ParaKids, a practitioner with extensive experience in working with children with various disabilities in aquatic environments, supported our idea.
This is how our 4-day hydrotherapy training for rehabilitators in Kazanlak took place from 25 to 28 July in the pool “Antimsport”. The training was attended by colleagues from day centres in the town, kinesiotherapists from Stara Zagora and Pavel Banya, as well as lecturers from the Trakia University from the Kinesitherapy and Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and Sports department at the Faculty of Medicine.
The main topics covered in the training were: basics of hydrotherapy and adapted swimming; conditions and diseases for which water activities are recommended; characteristics of water activities for children with cerebral palsy and neuromuscular diseases, children with intellectual disabilities, blind and deaf children, and children with postural disorders/spinal curvatures.
Participants were able to practice everything shown to them by the trainer in direct work with the children and youth from our centres. They saw in practice the differences in working with young people with physical and intellectual disabilities. But most of all they were able to try out basic approaches from the Halliwick concept that Daniela introduced them to.
And how did our children and youth feel in the water? Hydrotherapy is extremely useful for relieving muscle pain and cramps. It helps to relax and to maintain or increase the range of motion of the joints. But it also has a positive impact on mood – it soothes, and increases concentration. This type of therapeutic activity affects children with intellectual disabilities very well – it makes them more confident and calm.
We included 12 of our children and young people with physical and intellectual disabilities in the training. At first, they were timid, but in Daniela’s experienced hands, they all relaxed very quickly. Mila* found a way to show us that she wanted a hat and goggles, and then she was ready for a professional swim. It took Didi two days to get the courage to enter the pool hall, but then she enjoyed the swim. Galya showed how well she could move in the water, freed from her wheelchair. And Denny and Ivan walked around the pool with adult support as they relaxed in the water.
The hydrotherapy training is just the first stage of our work. In the autumn, we plan to provide regular sessions to the children and young people for whom therapy will have the most impact on improving their physical and mental well-being.
We are grateful for the support of Multisport and their clients who took part in their charity campaign in March and provided funds for this project.
* Names of children and youth have been changed for privacy reasons.
