Hydrotherapy is often a popular adjunct to Physiotherapy due to the benefits that water has on the body that land doesn't offer. But what is Hydrotherapy? Is it the same as water exercises or water aerobics?

Hydrotherapy is water therapy used by Physiotherapists, in which they are trained to specifically use the properties of water to assist with therapy. It preferably takes place in warm pools with the temperature of the water set at 32-34 degrees. This is so that the only energy you are expending is through exercise and not through maintaining your body heat.

You may find it interesting to know that the use of exercises in treating vestibular conditions, is a relatively old method dating back to the 1940’s and was mostly based on experiences of patients who were trying to recover from them.

It was not until the 1990’s that we began to understand the what, how and why of exercises that shape how we rehabilitate from vestibular conditions today, and much credit goes to Ms Susan Herdman, physical therapist, researcher and professor for her immense contribution to this area.

In the field of Parkinson’s therapy, there’s a bit of a mini revolution coming on the past few years around dancing. Finally, therapy get sexy!

Professor Meg Morris is a world renowned Australian physiotherapist and researcher who is looking into the effectiveness and development of tango classes in treating posture and movement disorder in Parkinson’s. They run classes in Melbourne already.

In this 3 part series, you will learn about what the vestibular system actually is, what questions are important to ask during assessment and lastly how you actually recover from it.

If seven years is anything to go by, it’s the fact that seeing 6 patients a day, 5 days a week, 40 weeks a year means I would have had 8400 exercise programs to learn something from.

That means I practically eat, sleep and dream of exercise programs. If exercise were a drug, I would be your shady crack dealer, handing them out to unsuspecting ladies with walkers left right and centre.

But how do we make our exercises more addictive?

Well, here are 7 great ways to make that happen.

In this second part of the vestibular series, we will discuss the physiotherapy approach to assessing vestibular disorders and dysfunction.

Because describing symptoms of vestibular dysfunction is so personal, subjective and at times emotional, a person-centred assessment must be undertaken to fully understand the extent and severity of the problem. In short, the best way to start treating the inner ear is to lend them one.

Music therapy helps people with stroke walk better.

Ever since I heard about the amazing anecdotal success of patients with Parkinson’s disease magically transforming with dancing and music, I began to do a bit of research of my own into the idea of music therapy for people with neurological conditions.

As footy finals season heats up, the adrenaline kicks in and the pressure is on, elite players put their bodies on the line in the quest for supremacy. It’s riveting stuff but I do pray every time I watch a game of footy that nobody gets a concussion.

A concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury. From kids playing at school to the elderly falling at home, concussion is a very real risk across the lifespan that can have devastating effects. In particular, I find that that younger people are more prone to developing post concussion syndrome and even second impact syndrome.

The treadmill guru researchers are back – this time they looked at whether speed of walking determines the effectiveness of treadmill training in chronic stroke.

Dean, Ada and Lindley are well respected researchers who have looked in the effectiveness and usefulness of treadmill training for people with stroke, from the very early and using body weight, to the late ones who lives amongst us.

Have you ever hit your funny bone? In actual fact, the funny bone is not a bone at all but the ulnar nerve, which supplies about a quarter of the muscles in your arm. But what happens if it is more serious than that?

First, a quick lesson on human physiology.

What is a nerve?

A nerve is a cord like structure that is made up bundles of conductive tissue that forms the peripheral nervous system. Before they branch off from the brain and spinal cord to become nerves, they are called tracts.

Nerves are organised very much like a big fat sushi roll.