Hydrotherapy treatment for patients with psoriatic arthritis—A qualitative study

Abstract

Purpose: To describe how patients living with psoriatic arthritis experience long-term hydro-therapy group treatment. Studies for this group of patients are lacking. Method: Qualitative in-terviews were conducted with ten informants after hydrotherapy treatment. The treatment in-cluded exercises for increased mobility, coor-dination, endurance, aerobic fitness, stretching and relaxation. The interviews were analysed with content analysis. Results: A theme " hy-drotherapy—a multidimensional experience " and two categories emerged: situational factors and effects of hydrotherapy. The category " situ-ational factors " comprised the subcategories: warm water, training factors and a competent instructor, and the category " effects of hydro-therapy " comprised the subcategories: psy-chological effects, improved physical capacity, social effects, changed pain experience and changes in work and participation in daily life. Conclusion: Positive effects of regular hydro-therapy in a group setting were shown in physical ability, energy, sleep, cognitive function, work and participation in daily life. The instruc-tors had an important coaching role, which needs to be promoted.