Facts About Swimming Therapy

Let’s know about swimming therapy.

Swimming therapy is the use of water and encouragement of swimming for people with disabilities in order that they can benefit from the positive experiences gained through swimming.
In the UK, swimming therapy first began in the late 1940s when James and Phyl McMillan realised the importance of swimming for people with disabilities. They set up a swimming club and developed a 10-point programme for teaching the disabled.
They called this the Halliwick Concept, after the Halliwick School which was a school for girls with physical disabilities.
In 1952, as demand had grown, they set up the Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy. The number of swimming clubs offering access for those with disabilities increased across the UK and demand also grew overseas.
The Halliwick Concept of swimming therapy is still being taught to this day in the UK and in many countries around the world.

How does swimming therapy work?
The Halliwick Concept of swimming therapy works by using the 10-point programme which was developed in the 1950s. This programme aims to first increase confidence in the water through mental adjustment, then balance control, then movement – three elements which are considered to be essential for motor learning.
The 10 points are:
1.     Mental adjustment.
2.     Disengagement.
3.     Transversal (formerly vertical) rotation control.
4.     Sagittal rotation control.
5.     Longitudinal (formerly lateral) rotation control.
6.     Combined rotation control.
7.     Upthrust.
8.     Balance in stillness.
9.     Turbulent gliding.
10.   Simple progression and a basic stroke.