Hydrotherapy for guillian barre

I have been treating a Guillain-Barré syndrome patient for the past 3 months and he is now recovering function and strength - he is able to sit independently, has strong trunk stability in sitting and has full functionality in concerns to bed mobility.

He is unable to stand independently and requires a lot of assistance from sitting to standing and staying upright. He is seeing me 3 days a week for exercise and is very disciplined with his home exercises.

I would like to start Hydrotherapy with him but there are no qualified people to handle him where I live. We have organized a heated pool but I am weary to take him in alone as I haven't had the relevant experience with a Guillain-Barré patient...I believe he will benefit loads from this.

Does anyone have relevant information on hydrotherapy for this patient or any tips I could use? I'm specifically looking for advice on exercises, keeping him afloat and what to do if anything goes wrong in the pool i.e. how to get him out. Also in your experience, do most of these patients recover all their function?

Many thanks, Anthony

Hi,

I have worked with many GB pts - some make a full recovery and some dont. A lot depends on initial management. 3 months down the track a full recovery is unlikely - especially if the pt is middle aged or older. As for hydrotherapy, if a patient is unable to stand independently, getting them in and out of a pool without a ramp and water chair is too dangerous. Doing this on your own without the above could be a recipe for disaster. However if you do - you need a float under the knees, bottom and head (proper floats for hydro - not noodles etc), concentrate on each limb in turn, pushing/pulling away from you, working on proximal muscles and TA control. Usually in GB pts, they with recover prox first and distal later. And if you do this, dont wear them out, high reps, low resistance works best. And get someone to go in with you. Good luck. Remember, GB is stubborn, just work with what their body gives you, functional is always best.

Thanks dylan...

Will definately take ur advice and keep u updated on the progress.Thank goodness there is some good advice out there..

Ant