Swimming as an Aerobics Exercise for Arthritis

Swimming is an excellent aerobic activity for just about anyone, as it can strengthen your muscles, as well as giving your heart a good workout. Because of water’s buoyancy, swimming is vitually a non-impact aerobic exercise. You can move more freely in the water, which makes it very suitable for folk with arthritis, as the water supports the weight of your body, thus putting less strain on those all important joints. There’s less jarring, which effectively results in less pain. It’s also an ideal activity in that it makes both the legs and the arms work hard.

 

For those who cannot swim, there are courses nowadays to be found in most places. You do not to feel intimidated, as most of the others there will probably be taking the plunge for the first time as well. For those who aren’t too keen on learning the sport, there’s a lot more that you can do in the water other than swimming. You can just splash about in the shallow end, or try out some other exercises there. Just being in the water can get you relaxed, and give you some pain relief.

Did you know that even some jogging in waist deep water can be a safe exercise for people with arthritis? I can assure you that it’s not as odd as it sounds. It’s just about impossible to pick up an injury while engaged in it. The deeper that you immerse yourself in the water, the less you strain your joints as you walk or jog. You can try those activities first of all in water at waist level, then in the water up to your shoulders. You can also try running in thedeeper water! Your feet will not touch the bottom of the pool, but you will be using your arms and legs to help propel yourself forward. It’s a well known fact that many athletes run in water to maintain their fitness whilst they recover from injuries.

Before any activity in the water, you should remember to warm up by doing a few range of motion exercises at the side of the pool. There are various types of swimming styles, of course, including the back stroke, breast stroke, and freestyle, or front crawl as it’s often called. The breast stroke might prove to be unsuitable if your hips or knees are suffering from arthritis, as it puts extra strain on those joints. You should experiment with different strokes until you find the one that you are most comfortable with.

Hydro therapy courses are excellent, and are usually carried out under under the supervision of a physiotherapist. The pool is heated to a high temperature, which helps to relax the muscles, and allows the joints easier movement. If you do exercises in a pool other than a hydrotherapy one, make sure that the water is warm enough. Run a check beforehand as well to find out if you can get in and out of the pool easily, as some of them only have ladder steps, which are difficult to use for many arthritis sufferers.