The Water Treadmill

Hydrotherapy treatment is centred around a specialised water treadmill. Heated to an optimum temperature of 30°C, the water relaxes muscles and helps the expansion of surface blood vessels. Because this is a non-weight bearing exercise, it reduces pressure on the muscles and painful joints. The water is tested regularly to ensure the chemical and PH balance of the treadmill is correct.

Aquatic Treadmill benefits

The Aquatic treadmill is used in the rehabilitation of dogs and as a fantastic way of preparing and conditioning your dog, as well as great for fitness and improving both muscle tone and cardiovascular stamina. 

The main benefits of the system are:

• Exercise can commence in the underwater treadmill earlier than land-based exercise. This is because the water reduces loading on healing limbs. The water supports the limb which in turn reduces the likelihood of muscle, tendon or ligament damage while exercising in the underwater treadmill. Range of movement, comfort can be improved, and superior function in healed tissues (rather than scarring) is achieved.
• The buoyancy of the water eases the performance of difficult movements, encouraging animals to flex and extend joints more fully and reduce stiffness.
• The underwater treadmill provides additional resistance to movement, which is why it is effective for strengthening muscles.
• We can closely control the speed at which the patient moves on the treadmill and the depth of the water (with deeper water providing greater buoyancy and therefore lower impact activity).