Two alumni work together to promote aquatic therapy in rehabilitation
Two Rehabilitation Sciences Sector alumni are working together to promote the use of aquatic therapy in rehabilitation and wellness.
Alison Bonnyman (BScPT ‘85) believes aquatic therapy is an important rehabilitation tool. It uses the unique properties of water to restore movement and function in people living with orthopaedic and neurological conditions like arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and spinal cord injury.
The buoyancy and resistance of water make it a safe falls environment, allowing for robust exercise that activates the trunk and challenges stability. “It enables people who cannot stand or walk on land to stand and walk when in the water,” says Alison. “You can also appreciate that it’s harder to move through the water. For example, if you were to walk or run through the water at the beach, you would notice that it’s harder than on land. So just manipulating the speed of movement in water adds resistance in any direction, and all the while the buoyancy is off-loading the joints.”
Alison’s collaboration with physical therapist and researcher Andresa Marinho-Buzelli (PhD RSI ‘18) began while Alison was working in the PT Bridging Program at the University of Toronto. She was asked by Professor Emerita Molly Verrier to co-author a systematic review for Andresa’s comprehensive exam, which explored the effects of aquatic therapy on mobility in individuals with neurological diseases. Their work found evidence that aquatic therapy can help people with neurological conditions, particularly improving balance and gait. Building on these findings, Andresa's research evolved to pioneering qualitative studies in aquatic therapy and co-designing a toolkit that helps people post-stroke to access aquatic therapy in the community.
Since then, Alison and Andresa have continued to work together – both in the water and in research.
Driven by her passion for aquatic therapy and desire to make water-based rehabilitation more accessible, Alison founded Canadian Aquatic Rehab (CARI), an organization that offers training for health care professionals looking to expand their knowledge and experience with aquatic therapy as well as supporting the growing network of clinicians providing aquatic therapy across Canada. Andresa is involved with CARI as a research advisor.
Despite growing evidence showing aquatic therapy is a safe, effective rehabilitation tool, there is potential for it to be used more, especially in the community. “We need to advocate for better community pool access and ensure they have knowledgeable support personnel,” says Andresa.
Alison agrees that access depends on training more clinicians. “It’s not just about the pools, it’s about having enough trained therapists. CARI has trained more than 500 therapists in Canada in the last 20 years, but it’s not enough. There are pools in rehab hospitals that are underused because of a lack of trained professionals. Water is a modality and requires competency.”
Physical therapists and other health care professionals interested in learning more about aquatic therapy may be interested in the International Conference on Evidence-Based Aquatic Therapy (ICEBAT) – an international conference taking place in Toronto from April 24 to 26, 2026.
