Hydrotherapy
Chief Professional: Lic. Nicolsky, Gabriela
The Rehabilitation Center at FLENI Escobar has a hydrotherapy area especially designed to meet the needs of disabled children and adults.
All architectural barriers were removed from the swimming pool and the back up areas, such as the changing rooms, and facilities address the specific training routines of disabled patients.
The lack of architectural barriers is essential to facilitate the use of the pool to patients, such as its “finished borders” that are crucial for the activities in the pool and to get in and out safely and easily. There is also a lift to get severely disabled patients in and out without risks.
The area is protected and the temperature of the water, which ranges from 26° C to 30° Celsius, is controlled and treated to prevent infections.
Child and adolescent hydrotherapy is based on the Halliwick Method, based on well known scientific methods of hydrodynamics and body mechanics, which has proved to be safe for people of all ages and different types of disabilities.
Individual coaching is crucial to teach children how to swim until they master the procedure to reach complete independence.
Customized games according to age and abilities help patients to grasp the properties of water and how to control their balance difficulties.
Trainers encourage patients to experience a complete and utter sense of mobility unknown to them outside the water and they get a complete feeling of freedom in the water.
At FLENI there is no use of artificial floating devices because disabled children are weary of using equipment and paraphernalia. Swimmers face their specific balance difficulties as they learn to deal with water, an element that does not allow for quick movements, rough at times and gentle others. Controlling body balance in this alien environment accompanies the natural developmental maturity of the human body. At the end of the process, patients become confident swimmers who are well aware of conditions and their own abilities.
This method allows trainers to develop patient skills in the water in opposition to their skills out of the water. Swimming not only is a sport, a recreation, and an exercise but also an opportunity to relate, to be equal and to compete with others.
In the water, disabled children gain independence which nurtures self esteem and raises the spirit.
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