Hydrotherapy Study - Carley Davies

Having volunteered at the NMC since January, I became involved in helping out in the Wednesday Hydro sessions.

A keen swimmer myself, I really enjoyed assisting, but most importantly, seeing the positive benefits of the hydrotherapy for people with neuromuscular conditions and muscular dystrophy. The physical and psychological benefits were clear to see, and I wanted to investigate the effects further. Consequently, when it came to choosing a research topic for my Masters dissertation, I chose to study the physical and psychological effects of hydrotherapy.

Upon researching the topic, I found that hydrotherapy provision on the NHS is very limited, particularly for people with long-term conditions, and particularly for adults. I found that there were plenty of studies demonstrating the effects of hydrotherapy for people with arthritis, for elderly people, and those with MS and fibromyalgia, but not for people with neuromuscular conditions.

Hopefully, by doing this study I will be able to demonstrate the benefits, and (should the work be published), promote this effective therapy to the NHS and GP’s. My study will consider the acute (that is, immediate) effects of the sessions on participants at the NMC. I have almost completed the data collection with my eight participants, and will hopefully be able to show the impact that it has. My research has involved physical and psychological tests (in the form of questionnaires), and when I have my results, I will be keen to share them with One Voice!