NHS Bristol Royal Infirmary (Hydrotherapy)

The first physiotherapist I shadowed, worked in hydrotherapy. I was really looking forward to seeing the type of facilities she worked in, and the sort of exercises she used, as I had never seen any hydrotherapy in practice before.

The pool was smaller than I imagined but  it  was explained to me that this was because hydrotherapy rarely includes any exercises that need a large space or any intensive exercising. Another thing which surprised me was the temperature of the pool - it was like bath water. This was so the muscles are warm when they are stretched and so  the patients are less prone to injury. The physio said that it seems nice and relaxing,  but actually, staying in a hot pool all day is extremely tiring, and it’s important to keep hydrated.

I loved the atmosphere in the hydrotherapy unit. There were different coloured lights on the ceiling like stars, which were used for relaxation sessions, when the lights were turned off. The pool had 3 different levels of depth to it. The deeper the water the less weight you will be bearing on your muscles.

I watched a group, all of whom suffered from arthritis. It was interesting that there was a range of severity of the arthritis, and this made it even more clear to me why the different depths were so important, as patients with the most severe cases of arthritis were most often in the deeper level of the pool. The physio began with easy stretches to increase the patient’s heart rate and the exercises became more and more challenging. By using floats, which they pressed down or pushed  to the side, the waters' resistance acted really efficiently to get the correct muscles working. This technique is also effective because I noticed that if the physio ever saw any of the patients having problems, or finding it too hard, she could either replace the float with a smaller one or move the float so the area pushing against the water was reduced and the pressure the patient would have to put on the float lessened.

The atmosphere in the pool was wonderful. They all got on really well because they have the same class every week and I expect the physio felt rewarded as she has helped these friendships form. Not only had she done this but the patients were also telling me how useful the lesson was, and that they found themselves much more physically able after it,  and as a result were  able to get more done in the day. Although I wasn’t in the water I thought I would get up and try the exercises myself. This was really fun and I felt like I was a part of the group.