Summertime is upon us and with warmer weather exercising outside becomes more appealing, but it is just so hot! Typical outside exercises such as running or riding your bike you are working mostly muscles on the front of your body and can often leave you over heated. With swimming you also work muscles on the back of your body making it a well-balanced form of exercise and the water has a cooling affect to minimize heat exhaustion.
Exercising in a pool doesn’t just mean swimming the breaststroke or backstroke but you can perform may other exercises to increase your heart rate and to build strength. Going to the pool is a great time to incorporate an exercise program whether it be for overall health, or one provided by a Physical Therapist as you recover from an injury. The pool also adds some enjoyment to exercise.
Exercising in a pool has many benefits making it a great form of exercise not only for “healthy” people but also for those with arthritis, general weakness, and decrease flexibility. Benefits of exercising in the water include:
Low Impact on your joints– the buoyancy of the water decreases weightbearing and impact on your joints which is great if you have arthritis as you are likely to have decreased pain with closed chain strengthening activities in the pool. Also, beneficial for runners with an injury and want to maintain strength and stamina, as they can do pool running with decreased impact on their body.
Improves flexibility– swimming requires our bodies to move in a broad range of motion which helps keep us limber. Reaching with our arms to swim elongates the whole body putting a light stretch through the entire body. It is also beneficial to perform light stretching activities after swimming or exercising in a pool.
Cooling- with exercising, our bodies can become over heated especially in the summer heat. The pool water helps keep your body cool and prevent overheating.
No equipment necessary– the water provides a built-in resistance that you can adjust with your speed of movement and position. However, there are items such a flippers and foam weights that give greater challenges.
Pool exercise in not only a great form of exercise for those with arthritis but also those who want to maintain fitness while rehabilitating from an injury or surgery. Always check with your MD or PT after surgery if it is appropriate for you to begin a pool exercise routine and to make sure your surgical incisions are healed to prevent infection.
For more information about how ORTHOKnox can treat you, call (865) 251-3030, or fill out our easy-to-use online appointment request form. We look forward to hearing from you!