What is Water Therapy and Why Is It Good for Children

Dear parents, due to the great interest in the “Water Therapy for Children with Disabilities and Developmental Problems” program and the many questions you have for our team, we tried to briefly summarize most of them in this article.

We thank our colleague Teodora Dimitrova, a physiotherapist with many years of experience in working with children with special needs at Karin Dom, for the comprehensive answers.

What is water therapy? How does it help children and under what conditions is it recommended?

Water is a pleasure and a medium for therapeutic impact on children with special needs. Children with slower development must also be provided the the opportunity to experience the pleasure of movement, and for this they must exercise the sense of movement that will help them in their development.

Water rehabilitation has a beneficial effect on spastically increased muscle tone, helping the muscles to relax and the child to feel its body freer, thanks to the higher temperature of the water. In addition, water helps stop unwanted involuntary movements of the body and limbs and facilitates other movements that increase children’s experience. At the same time, it prevents overexertion and increases stability, improves body coordination and limb movements. Water therapy affects muscle tone; improves range of motion in joints; strengthens muscles; improves concentration, coordination and balance by exercising in an aquatic environment.

What is the difference with adapted swimming?

Adapted swimming makes more use of learning different swimming techniques and styles that are tailored to children’s abilities. It has a beneficial effect on general physical condition, self-control, discipline, coordination, balance and concentration.

Who is the program for? For children of what age and with what conditions is the swimming pool in Karin Dom suitable?

The current municipal program is intended for all children with motor disabilities and developmental problems, such as Cerebral Palsy, various genetic syndromes, children with autism spectrum disorder, etc. The age group that we can cover according to the size of our pool is from 1 up to 10 years of age.

Examination/consultation with swimming instructor, physiotherapist and social worker – why is it necessary?

The consultation with a team of specialists is necessary to be able to determine for which child the water therapy at Karin Dom is suitable.

Who are the specialists who work with children?

The specialists who work with the children in the pool are swimming and aquatic therapy instructors. They are also students of physical therapy, which makes them even better specialists because they are familiar with children’s medical diagnoses and conditions.

Play as a form of therapy – what is the favorite game in the pool?

Children love water very much – they splash water with their hands and feet, they also love to compete with each other! In this regard, we can boast that we are preparing several children who have passed this Municipal program to participate in an adapted swimming competition, and they and their parents are extremely excited about this fact. We are proud that in an extremely short period we managed to enter a competition.

What’s ahead? Will the program have a future and is it expected to become part of the annual social program of the Municipality of Varna?

The budget for the next calendar year of the Municipality of Varna is about to be adopted and we expect this program to be recognized and approved again, so that children with disabilities and developmental problems will once again have the opportunity to swim in Karin Dom.

The program is financed by the Municipality of Varna, Health Directorate