Exercising In Water
Get in the water to prevent injuries in Bradenton
We’d like to remind you that exercising in water is a great way to change up your normal routine. In fact, it may even lead to greater benefits than land-based exercise and help you avoid injuries in Bradenton. Here’s why: exercising on land is certainly a great way to stay active and fit, but it comes with downsides as well. Doing it on a regular basis puts high-impact stress on your muscles and joints, which can result in muscle soreness, stress fractures and injury. In turn, this can make exercising more difficult and eventually lead to less activity and fitness.
On the other hand, getting active in the water—whether that be swimming or water-based (aquatic) exercise—is much kinder to the body. Instead of the firmness of land, swimming and aquatic exercise are performed in an environment with buoyancy, which alleviates the pressure on joints. This environment is especially ideal for clients with load-sensitive injuries like low back pain and hip or knee osteoarthritis, and many of these clients can do more in the water than they can on land. Aquatic exercise has also been found to increase strength, endurance and posture, improve the mobility and flexibility of joints, and reduce overall pain and fatigue.
If injured clients are able to comfortably tolerate these water-based exercises, eventually they can work towards improving their strength and flexibility and make their way towards tolerating exercises on land. This type of approach can ease the transition from struggling to perform any exercises to being able to do so on land.
Avid swimmers should be stretching regularly
- Latissimus dorsi: largest back muscle; primary function is to bring the arms to the body and stability many everyday movements; to stretch this muscle, try the overhead latissimus dorsi stretch, the seated torso stretch and the child’s pose (click here for stretch descriptions)
- Pectoral muscles: the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles are located in the front of the chest; tightness of these muscles can restrict shoulder range of motion; to stretch these muscles, try the behind-the-chest stretch, doorway chest stretch
Swimming team and get in the water a bit more often. Swimming or partaking in aquatic exercise can help you avoid and recover from injuries in Bradenton, and keep you fit while doing so. Our therapists at Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida in Bradenton, FL can offer tips on how to best approach a new water workout. For the swimmers out there dealing with stiffness that may be interfering with their stroke, we can also offer treatments to address your issues. Contact us at 941-264-1414 to schedule an appointment today.