Hydrotherapy: Release, Rebuild, Refine: A Practical Guide to Exercise, Handling and Progression in Aquatic Therapy

Hydrotherapy offers far more than a familiar routine of pool exercises. Used thoughtfully, water can support movement, reduce load, create resistance and open possibilities that may be difficult to achieve on land.Hydrotherapy: Release, Rebuild, Refine is a visually led practical guide for appropriately trained individuals responsible for delivering aquatic therapy sessions.Written by physiotherapist, trainer and lecturer Lee A Dart, it brings together more than a decade of clinical practice, teaching and collaboration with therapy teams. The focus throughout is not simply what an activity looks like, but why it is being used, how it can be performed and how it can be adapted around the individual.At its centre are the 3 Therapeutic Rs: Release, Rebuild and Refine. This framework helps practitioners identify whether the main purpose of an activity is to improve range and relaxation, rebuild strength and endurance, or refine balance, coordination and control.Inside you will find: - Clear explanations, informed by current research, of how warmth, buoyancy, hydrostatic pressure and resistance influence the body and movement- Practical guidance on equipment, positioning, holds, handling and water massage techniques- Features the LD Therapy Courses Hydrotherapy Progression Chart, connecting 35 activity groups and more than 60 individual exercises- Variations, progressions and practical adaptations to help adjust position, support, equipment and movement- Five Functional Mobility Levels and ten Challenge Levels to support exercise selection and progression- 15 programme examples covering every combination of the five Functional Mobility Levels and three Therapeutic Rs- Clear colour illustrations throughout, plus companion online animations demonstrating every exercise The book is designed to help practitioners move beyond repeating familiar routines and create purposeful, varied programmes around individual needs and abilities.Combine this book with your face-to-face training and return to the pool inspired, with fresh ideas, renewed confidence and a clear sense of purpose, ready to select, adapt and progress activities that will take your hydrotherapy sessions to the next level.