Discover your best practice

Do you work with water immersion? Optimize your clinical decision to trigger the best results in a safe way for your athlete or patient now. Learn all about applying water immersion in sports practice via this online accredited advanced course.

  • Gain insights in the general principles and working mechanisms

  • Acquire an appraisal of the most recent research findings

  • Learn to optimize the use and increase compliance of your athlete

  • Get guidelines for a safe and effective immersion

Reviewed by our experts in the field

Become a certified expert

NATA education credits available as well

Your learning objectives

At the conclusion of this water immersion advanced course you should be able to:

  • Explain the physiological principles and appraise the research findings

  • Evaluate the evidence-based findings to optimize best-practice solutions

  • Consider the critical environmental and personal factors for maximizing safety, effectiveness and standardization

Course curriculum

This course (9 chapters, total time 5 hours) contains video's, written materials, a reference list, an easy to use portal and your personal certification.

  • 1

    Welcome to the course!

    • A message from the instructor

    • Before we begin...

    • Script and references
  • 2

    The art of water immersion

    • 2.1 The concept of cold and heat

    • 2.2 Evidence based practice and the physical laws

    • Knowledge check chapter 2.1 & 2.2

    • 2.3. Positioning water immersion in practice

    • 2.4 The history and general principle

    • Knowledge check chapter 2.3 & 2.4

    • Script and references
  • 3

    How does it work?

    • 3.1: The physiological working mechanisms (part 1)

    • Knowledge check 3.1

    • 3.1: The physiological working mechanisms (part 2)

    • Knowledgde check 3.1 (part 2)

    • 3.2: Water immersion for sports care

    • Knowlegde check 3.2

    • 3.3.1 : The injury healing process and rehab indications

    • Knowledge check 3.3.1

    • 3.3.2: Orthopedic and musculoskeletal injury care

    • Knowledge check 3.3.2

    • Script and references
  • 4

    What is the research telling us?

    • 4.1.1: Skin temperature effects

    • Knowlegde check 4.1

    • 4.1.2: Core- and muscle temperature effects

    • Knowledge check 4.1.2

    • 4.2 : Recovery markers

    • Knowledge check chapter 4.2

    • 4.3 : Effectiveness on performance measures

    • Knowledge check 4.3

    • 4.4 : DOMS and other subjective effects

    • knowlegde check 4.4

    • 4.5: Effectiveness in rehabilitation

    • Knowlegde check 4.5

    • Script and references
  • 5

    Improving safety

    • 5: Adverse events, symptoms, contraindications and precautions

    • Knowlegde check chapter 5

    • Hand-out: contraindications and precautions WI

    • Script and references
  • 6

    Considerations for the proper protocol

    • 6.1: Water immersion temperature

    • Knowlegde check 6.1

    • 6.2 : Water immersion duration

    • Knowledge check 6.2

    • 6.3 : Water immersion frequency

    • Knowledg check 6.3

    • Script and references
  • 7

    Enhancing the efficacy of your strategy

    • 7.1 : Water immersion technique

    • Knowlegde check chapter 7.1

    • 7.2: Immersion position

    • Knowlegde check 7.2

    • 7.3 : Objective and subsquent exercise

    • Knowlegde check chapter 7.3

    • 7.4 : Body composition and muscle mass

    • Knowlegde check chapter 7.4

    • 7.5: Other factors: age, gender, responsiveness and ethnicity

    • Knowlegde check chapter 7.5

    • Script and references

    • Download: recommended protocol settings for CWI
  • 8

    The practical application of water immersion

    • 8.1 : Inflammation and muscle adaptation

    • Knowlegde check 8.1

    • 8.2 : Getting the buy-in of your athlete

    • Knowledge check 8.2

    • 8.3 : Water immersion and exercising in the heat

    • Knowledge check 8.3

    • 8.4 : Clinical decision making

    • Case description from your own practice

    • 8.5: Clinical reasoning in the recovery domain (cases)

    • 8.6.1: Clinical reasoning in rehabilitation-part 1

    • Knowledge check 8.6.1

    • 8.6.2: Clinical reasoning in rehabilitation- part 2

    • Knowledge check 8.6.2

    • Script and references
  • 9

    Become a water immersion expert

    • Expert-exam
  • 10

    Next steps

    • Before you go...
  • 11

    Bonus material: Water immersion versus whole-body cryo

    • Water immersion versus whole-body cryo

    • Bonus_Factsheet WBC versus CWI

Become a certified water immersion expert

Complete the course to become a Water Immersion expert. Pass the exam and receive your certificate of completion. Earn your Continuing Education units from the National Athletic Trainer Association (NATA, USA).