Water Exercises - Aquatic Therapy

Also known as water aerobics or water exercises, aquatic therapy is becoming increasingly popular as an effective means of staying fit and healthy. However, aquatic therapy is not merely about paddling up and down your neighborhood pool or relaxing in a bubbling hot spa. Done properly, it can be a wonderful means of complementing your regular schedule of training, or to help you to recover from serious injury or grueling training.

So what exactly does aquatic therapy or water exercise mean? Basically, any type of activity performed inside water can be referred to as aquatic therapy. However, these activities can be divided into two main fields which relate particularly to exercise, sport, health and fitness.

First off, aquatic therapy involves any types of exercises performed in water in order to enhance and be an adjunct to your regular exercise routine as well as training. In the second place, aquatic therapy involves any type of exercises done in water in order to help in recovering or rehabilitating from grievous injury or arduous training.

One of the basic aspects of water exercises is that you can exercise without having to undergo the jolting and jarring impact that occurs when exercising on the ground. It is reckoned that when the heel strikes the ground while jogging or running, the weight of the body is heightened by up to five times. This is eliminated when exercising in deep water or during aquatic exercises. Water’s buoyant attributes allow you to perform exercises without experiencing impact of any significance at all.

That aspect by itself distinguishes aquatic therapy from various other types of exercises done for rehabilitation, recovery, or to stay fit. For instance, when there is an injury, it can be very difficult to find activities and exercises that permit you to maintain the fitness level you are at currently without risking exacerbating the injury. However, with deep water exercises or aquatic therapy, you place your body in an environment that is close to zero gravity, which means that there is practically no jarring or impact on any of the bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, or joints of the body.

For athletes and sports people, for example, this can be particularly important, since they usually set fitness and proficiency goals for themselves, for which they devise a plan of action, in order to achieve them. Hence, the last thing they would want to do is being forced to interrupt their plan of action due to an injury. Even for other people who workout regularly, there are always chances of minor injuries occurring during an exercise session. If left ignored, these can develop into chronic injuries that could require weeks, or even months to recover from. These are the instances where aquatic therapy can come in useful for assisting in recovery without needing to interrupt your exercise routine or training schedule.

Another significant aspect of aquatic therapy is water increasing resistance while exercising. The important feature of this increase in resistance is the fact that it is variable. This means, that the harder and faster your body works against the water, the more the resistance you will experience, hence, the harder will be your workout. Therefore, in case you have an injury or just want a more leisurely workout, you can do the exercises slowly and gently. But, if it is a physically demanding workout that you are looking for, you can perform the water exercises as fast and hard as possible, and the resistance you will experience from the water will be equal to the amount of effort you put against it.

From the characteristics of aquatic therapy that has been mentioned above, it is quite evident that it is an extremely beneficial and safe type of exercise. Apart from the aerobic and cardiovascular benefits of aquatic therapy, it also helps in:

• Improving the alignment of posture, balance, and coordination
• Increasing muscular strength
• Improving the body’s range of motion and mobility
• Increasing and maintaining flexibility of the muscles

Some of the other benefits of aquatic therapy are:

• The muscles experiencing a soothing massaging effect
• Being able to exercise when the weather is very hot in a lake or a pool outdoors
• Being able to exercise when the weather is very cold in a heated indoor pool
• A wonderful alternative or supplement to your regular workouts
• Most people find it extremely relaxing and pleasurable

Plus, since the body is buoyed up by the water, even when you have a strenuous workout, the heart rate is relatively lower, which means that aquatic therapy is comparatively safe for those who have heart disease and hypertension, pregnant women, and overweight people.