Maisy has almost graduated from the Davies Therapy and Fitness Centre after undergoing rehabilitation post left-sided T13/L1 hemilaminectomy (decompressive surgery to the spine). To ensure that she is walking to the best of her physical ability, we have been using alternative water-based techniques and training aids to maximise her recovery.

Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense movement within joints and enables us to know where our limbs are in space without having to look. It is the process by which the body can vary muscle contraction in immediate response to incoming information from external forces i.e. pressure. Sensory or stretch receptors in the limb detect movement and the position of that limb and relay that information to the brain via spinal pathways. Maisy has some residual proprioceptive deficits from her spinal cord injury which we have been working on to improve with these techniques: