Physiotherapy & Physical Rehabilitation

Background: Although, aquatic therapies have been shown to be beneficial for a variety of physical and psychological disorders, there is a lack of research on emerging Watsu® Therapy in clinical settings. In our study, effect of Watsu® on ROM and MAS scores of children with Cerebral Palsy were investigated. Methods & Results: Twenty-three children with CP whose family signed the consent forms were included in the controlled study. Subjects with average age of 7.5 years -+2.8 and BMI of 17 +-3.7 were assigned randomly to either Watsu therapy (W) and Control groups according to an aged-stratified randomization. They receieved Watsu therapy two times per week for 10 weeks. Spasticity (MAS) and flexibility (ROM) scores were investigated with Paired t test. Watsu® increased lower flexibility significantly (P<0.05). Positive change seen in MAS scores were not significant. Conclusion: In the experimental condition, Watsu® therapy increased the lower flexibility of children with CP. We recommend Watsu® therapy to be incorporated in to aquatic treatment settings to enhance lower flexibility of children with CP. However, more emphasize may be placed on the upper body Watsu techniques for future studies.