Summertime is almost here and after a long cold winter and a rainy spring, it is safe to say we are ready for the warmth. As the temperatures warm up, people tend to increase their activity levels from walking to running to gardening and everything in between. With a walking program being a great form of exercise in the summer for individuals, something that also be of great benefit for people is the pool. An aquatic program is a great way to enjoy the summer weather and increase exercise that does not product the same amount of force through your joints as running or walking may be doing. While it is nice to float in the pool this is not what we are referencing.
DECREASE JOINT PAIN
An aquatic exercise program and be a good source of exercise and low impact on the joints. One of the benefits of an aquatic program is it increases your buoyancy in the water resulting in decreased joint load and possible pain decrease while exercising. Many people are experiencing arthritis like symptoms and this is one way to increase activity without having an increase in symptoms.
STRENGTH AND BALANCE
Another benefit of an aquatic program is it helps strengthen muscles and improve balance. Water naturally produces resistance when an individual is generating movement in the pool. Therefore, with resistance it can help strengthen muscles in a variety of different movement patterns. While strengthening is happening, improving balance is also happening without much heightened awareness. With every movement, an individual exercising is pushing water in one direction and it is pushing back on them in another. In order to maintain upright in the water, our bodies must adapt to the forces and therefore become stronger to hold and maintain balance in the water.
A variety of exercises can be completed in the pool to improve strength and balancing. Exercises include walking forwards and backwards, side stepping, squats, step ups, abdominal exercises, and upper extremity exercises along with unloaded lower extremity exercises.
AQUATIC CLASS
Benefits of aquatic exercise program are of significant value to improve overall quality of life. However, this can only be done in a safe manner. Please contact your doctor before beginning any exercise regiment to make sure it is appropriate for you. At City Center Rehabilitation, we offer a low impact aquatic class in our warm water pool on site at various times throughout the week, please feel free to contact us to attend a class or if you have any questions regarding our class.