ICEBAT Canada 2026 Programme
Friday April 24th 2026
11:00-12:00 Registration in the Delta Marriott West Lobby
12:00-12.20 Opening Addresses, Alison Bonnyman, Johan. Lambeck
Waves in Aquatic Rehabilitation
12:20-13:10 Samuel Lucas on "Treading Water – Aquatic Treadmill Exercise as an Optimal Therapeutic Exercise Strategy for Improving Brain Vascular Health"
13:10-14:00 Jens Bansi on "Making Waves – The Power of High-Intensive (Aquatic) Exercise"
Evidence in Aquatic Physical Therapy (APT)
14:30-15:20 Cristine Alberton on Immersion in Evidence-Based Practice: Physiological Insights for Optimizing Aquatic Exercise Dosage in Health Promotion
15:20-16.10 Michael Murray on Implementing Evidence-Based Strategies for Shoulder Recovery in Swimmers
Sound Makes the Dose
16:40-17:30 Emily Dunlap on "Rhythm and Music as Therapeutic Tools: Enhancing Motor Control and Modulating Intensity in Aquatic Rehabilitation"
17:30-18:20 Jason Ellis on "Sleeping with the Enemy: The role of aquatic exercise in navigating poor sleep"
Saturday April 25th 2026
Pediatric APT: Optimal Development
08:45-09:35 Javier Güeita on "Surfing the aquatic clinical reasoning in children with autism spectrum disorder"
09:35-10:25 Andrea Cross on "Splashing through the F-words for Child Development: Exploring the holistic benefits of aquatics for children with developmental concerns and disabilities"
10:25-11:15 Caio Castro on "Riding the Trend: Aquatic Therapy for Cerebral Palsy Recovery After Orthopedic Surgery & Neuromuscular Blocks"
11:45-12:33 Podium Presentations:
*Immersion and Innovation: Aquatic-Based Rehabilitation Therapy for SCI Patients with Complex Medical Condition and Invasive Appliances. Albert Recio, USA
*Using Quality Improvement methods to explore evidence-based practice in Aquatic Physiotherapy. Alasdair Davie, Scotland
*Rehabilitation resource planning for mass casualty incidents: a retrospective analysis of blast and ballistic injuries. Caroline Barmatz
*Implementation of Early Aquatic Therapy Following Lower Extremity Surgery: A Quality Improvement Project. Sarah Siderius, Canada
*Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Changes Among Veterans *Participating in Trauma‐Informed Aquatic Therapy: A 1‐Year Retrospective Study. Elizabeth Berg, USA
*Spinal cord injury aquatic physiotherapy: ventilated & tracheostomy management protocol. Julie Dixon, United kingdom
In the Pool: Applying Research to Clinical Practice (optional in-pool participation, sign-up on registration)
13:20-14:00 Urs Gamper on "The Bad Ragaz Ring Method: Developments and the importance of manual handling"
14:00-14:25 Johan Lambeck & Urs Gamper on "Water Specific therapy: facilitating continuous reactive myofascial chains"
14:25-14:50 Johan Lambeck on "Aquatic motor-cognitive serious gaming to enhance brain health"
14.50-15:20 Javier Güeita on "From Pedagogy to Exercise: Optimizing the Aquatic Games"
15:50-16:30 Emily Dunlap on "Rhythm and Music as Therapeutic Tools: Enhancing Motor Control and Modulating Intensity in Aquatic Rehabilitation"
16:30-17:10 Cristine Alberton on "Mastering Intensity Control: Practical Strategies for Aquatic Aerobic Exercise"
Land Workshops
17:30-18:10 Jens Bansi on "Getting the dosage right – Graded exercise testing"
17:30-18:10 Emily Dunlap on "Beyond the Abstract: A Clinician’s Guide to Critically Appraising Research in Physical Therapy"
Sunday April 26th 2026
Transitioning to Fitness
08:45-09:25 Eugenia Hernández on "Pulling Lifestyle Diseases into the Pool"
09:25-10:05 Anna Ogonowska-Slodownik on "Balancing in Motion: a Novel Approach to Fall Prevention Through Water-Based Reactive Balance Training"
The Future!
11:35-12:15 Oliver Krouwel on "Aquatic Therapy for chronic pain: Where to start?"
12:15-12:45 Johan Lambeck & Alison Bonnyman on "The Future of Aquatic Therapy: Closing Thoughts".
LIST of ICEBAT 2026 POSTERS
P01 The role of aquatic physiotherapy in treating military personnel with vestibular dysfunction following a mild traumatic brain injury Katy MacSwiney, United Kingdom
P12 Perceptions of Individuals with Cerebral Palsy and Other Neuromuscular Conditions and Their Families on Aquatic Therapy Through the Lens of the F-words Michelle Pires, Brazil
P09 Removing Barriers to Aquatic Therapy Adoption: A Scalable Canadian Model for Lifespan Rehabilitation Karen Snyder, Canada
P08 Neuroimmune, Neuroendocrine, and Neuroplastic Effects of Aquatic Therapy on Depression: A Mechanistic Scoping Review Oğuz Gücin, Türkiye
P02 Effect of Aquatic Therapy on Gait Kinematics in Early Adolescent Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy – A Case Study Dipti Patil, India
P14 Empowering Movement Behavior: Developing an Aquatic Intervention to Enhance Balance and Social Interactions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Patty van ‘t Hooft, The Netherlands
P11 Strengthening the Aquatic Rehabilitation Evidence Base through Patient-Reported Outcomes and Service Evaluation Ross Urquhart, Scotland
P21 Aquatic Therapy for Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review of Benefits and Outcomes Islam Hewidy, USA
P16 Effects of Aquatic Intervention on Gross Motor Function and Water Orientation Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study Eliška Vodáková, Czech Republic
P04 Understanding Factors around the Application of Aquatic Physical Therapy in the Subacute Phase of Stroke Recovery Emma van Demark, Canada
P13 Effect of Paediatric Aquatic Therapy and Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) on Children with Neuromotor Impairments: A Literature Review Renu Agrawal, India
P19 Mechanistic Pathways of Aquatic Exercise, Water Immersion, and Balneotherapy Relevant to Chronic Pain: A Scoping Review Oğuz Gücin, Türkiye
P22 The effect of Geron hydrotherapy on pain, range of movement and function in patients with frozen shoulder. Stacey Lewis, South-Africa
P07 The Effect of Aquatic Exercise on Cognitive Function and Neurotrophic Factors for Older Adults– A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Manny Kwok, Hong Kong
P03 The Efficacy of Aquatic Physical Therapy in Post-Acute Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Retrospective Single Case Study Peter Glazer, Canada
P10 The benefits of aquatic therapy sessions on the development of communication and participation - a multidisciplinary project case study of two children with complex needs Kerry Churchill, South-Africa
P18 Water- and Land-Based Aerobic Exercise on Pain in Breast Cancer Survivors: The Watermama Randomized Clinical Trial Cristina Alberton, Brazil
P20 Effects of Aquatic Therapy on Paraspinal and Gluteal Muscle Morphology and Psychological Outcomes in Individuals with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial Nicolas Vaillancourt, Canada
PB 1 P05 Scoping Review and Protocol Development for Clinical Ai Chi (CAC) in Vestibular Dysfunction Conceição Graça, Portugal
P15 Water Specific Therapy Halliwick (WSTH) and cerebral palsy. Between field statistical studies and practice: an overview Eric Meyer, Belgium
P17 Factors Influencing Waterproof Performance and Skin Irritation of Transparent Film Dressings During Aquatic Exercise: A Crossover Trial Emily Dunlap, USA
P23 Applying the frequency, intensity, time, and type (fitt) principle to aquatic exercise for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review Daud Ahmad, Pakistan
P06 Short-term effects of Aquatic Exercise on Sleep in Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Study Oliwia Jakóbowic, Poland