Hydrotherapy Success Stories
Name: Jess 
Age: 11 years
Condition: Cruciate Disease
Jess was referred in 2005 after she had Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery on her right knee. Her vets had also reported that she had some mild signs of similar problemsin her left knee.
When Jess arrived for her first swim her owners told us that she loved water and they hoped that swimming would be of great benefit to her after her surgery. Jess was a little overweight and we advised her owners that the extra weight would not help in her recovery as it would put more strain on her joints. We worked out an appropriate treatment plan involving gradual weight loss through correct diet management and hydrotherapy and improving muscle mass and use of her back legs.
Hydrotherapy was started slowly as Jess was a little unfit and at 11 years old and we did not want to put pressure on her heart or make her painful by doing too much too quickly. She has progressed well with hydrotherapy and her owners still continue her hydrotherapy to help maintain her weight and muscles even at the age of 14 years.
Jess is a very loveable character and great fun to swim, although she can sometimes be lazy and simply floats around if the nurses are not watching closely!
Name: Wooster 
Age: 13 years
Condition: Ruptured Cruciate Ligament and Degenerative Joint Disease
Wooster is a 13 year old Bearded Collie who experiences pain on walking and becomes stiff and sore when he exercises. He has had a previous surgery for a ruptured cruciate ligament in his knee, has degenerative joint disease and has a subluxated hip joint.
Wooster's owner was keen to try supportive physiotherapy treatments instead of surgery. Hydrotherapy helps Wooster on many levels. He is able to exercise much more comfortably in the water as he is completely supported, which relieves the stress on his joints. The resistance of the water whilst he is swimming helps to strengthen his muscles and build them up, which in turn supports the hip joint. The swimming also helps to give Wooster regular exercise and keep his weight down.
After Wooster's sixth swim session there is a noticeable difference in the strength he has in his hind legs and the amount of exercise he can do.He is a lot happier and more comfortable generally and Mr Baldwin reports "I am delighted with the hydrotherapy sessions, Wooster has been for a stroll around the park and chased a rabbit!"
Name: Bouncer
Age: 11 years
Condition: Prolapsed Disc
Bouncer came to the hospital unable to walk, but still had movement. One of his discs had prolapsed, causing compression of his spinal cord. Bouncer underwent surgery to remove the disc material, which would relieve the compression.
After surgery Bouncer was still very weak on his hind limbs and could not walk without the help of a harness. He started hydrotherapy to aide his recovery by strengthening his muscles quicker, especially when combined with other rehabilitation exercises, such as sit to stands and standing.
Bouncer has progressed to walking without support and will often try to jump! Being 11 years old hydrotherapy will also help Bouncer overall by keeping his joints supple, with good muscle bulk to support them.
Name: Casper
Age:
4 years
Condition: Fibro Cartailaganous Embolism
Casper was referred for hydrotherapy after he had an operation to relieve pressure on his spinal cord caused by one of his discs.
He had weak and wobbly hind limbs, which hydrotherapy would strengthen by building up his muscle. Hydrotherapy allows Casper to move his limbs without having to carry his body weight, due to the buoyancy of the water. The drag of the water also helps to build up more muscle.
Casper was slightly nervous of the water and swimming at first and had a swimmer in with him. He soon became much more confident, no longer needing a swimmer and is a little dynamo in the pool! He is much stronger in his hind limbs and walks normally with no need for support.
Name: Barney
Age: 6 years
Condition: Exercise Intolerance
Barney is a 6 year old Labrador that was first referred to the hydrotherapy team in May 2006 because of an increasing intolerance to exercise. His own vets thought that this was more than likely due to his increasing waist line making it harder for him to exercise especially due to his pre-existing condition of hip dysplasia.
Barney was initially a bit reluctant to get into the pool but a few low fat treats we convinced him to take the plunge! To begin with he was very unfit and could only manage very short swims before he started to get tired. We slowly started to build up Barney’s fitness levels and now he can swim for several minutes without getting out of breath.
His owners have kept him on a restricted diet and with the gradual increase in exercise through his swimming his weight has gone from 43 kg to 34.8 kg. Barney is continuing to lose weight each week, and has really started to enjoy his swimming often trying to jump in without his life jacket on!