For years now you’ve lived down the street from the community pool but for some reason you’ve never utilized the facilities; or maybe with the weather cooling down and the days getting shorter, you need a new exercise option.
An extremely beneficial, enjoyable, and often overlooked form of exercise is aquatic exercise. No, I don’t mean hunkering down in the pool with your swim cap and goggles and perfecting your butterfly after another inspiring showing by Michael Phelps in the Olympics. The aquatic exercise I am referring to consists of similar exercises to those that you would perform on land, only you perform them in a pool. Aquatic exercise is a low-impact activity that takes pressure off of bones, joints, and muscles in a forgiving water environment.
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Performing exercise in water can be beneficial for a wide variety of individuals with musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders, and also for those looking for a great, low-impact form of exercise. The mechanical characteristics of water offer an optimal low-impact environment that minimizes joint compression while promoting cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility, and balance. For individuals suffering from arthritis and experiencing painful, stiff, and inflamed joints, aquatic exercise is one of the most comfortable and effective forms of exercise because the joints and muscles can be worked while simultaneously being supported by the water.
The Benefits of Aquatic Exercise:
- Water buoyancy reduces the effects of gravity and lessens compressive forces, reducing stress on bones, joints and muscles while making exercise much easier to perform than on land.
- Viscosity of the water provides resistance for strength training.
- Hydrostatic pressure of the water enables the heart to work more efficiently by enhancing venous return and cardiac functions.
- Warm water facilities increase peripheral circulation and enhance muscle relaxation.
- Greater mobility of joints, improved strength and flexibility of muscles, improved endurance and fitness, and reduced pain and fatigue.
- Exercising in a pool is fun!
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Aquatic Exercise Program for the Lower Extremities:
Warm up:
- Forward walking – 2 min
- Backward walking – 2 min
- Side step, both directions – 2 min
Strengthening:
- Hip flexion – with your back flattened against the pool wall and your core activated, slowly lift your leg up towards the surface while keeping your knee straight. Pause for 1 second at the top then slowly lower your leg back towards the pool floor. Repeat on both legs.
- Hip march – with your back flattened against the pool wall and your core activated, slowly lift your leg towards the surface while keeping your knee bent. Pause for 1 second at the top then slowly lower your leg back towards the pool floor. Repeat on both legs.
- Hip extension – with your hands on the edge of the pool, facing the pool wall, slowly lift your leg behind you while keeping your knee straight. Pause for 1 second at the top then slowly lower your leg back towards the pool floor. Repeat on both legs
- Hamstring curl – with your hands on the edge of the pool, facing the pool wall, bend your knee and slowly lift your lower leg and foot towards your bottom. Pause for 1 second at the top then slowly lower your leg back towards the pool floor. Repeat on both legs.
- Hip abduction – with your hands on the edge of the pool, facing the pool wall, slowly lift your leg out to the side while keeping your knee straight. Pause for 1 second at the top then slowly lower your leg back towards the pool floor. Repeat on both legs.
Cardiovascular Fitness:
- Gentle kicks – using the side of the pool for support or using a pool noodle around your back and under both arms, perform a gentle kicking motion. Continue for 2 minutes.
- Jumping jacks – while straddling a pool noodle between your legs, push off the bottom of the pool in a jumping motion and kick both legs out to the side while simultaneously raising both arms out to the side towards the surface as if you are creating a star shape. Perform another jumping motion, but this time bringing the legs back together and the arms back down towards your body. Repeat for 2 minutes.
- Cross-country skiing – while straddling a pool noodle between your legs, take one step forward with your right leg to achieve a staggered leg position. Push off the bottom of the pool in a jumping motion and while bringing your right leg back towards you, move your left leg forward as if you are creating a scissor motion with your legs. Repeat, but this time bringing your right leg forward and left leg back. Continue this jumping and scissor motion for 2 minutes.
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Many towns in the Greater Portland area have community centers and municipal pools that provide open swim and lap swim hours for the public. Listed below are links to public aquatic facilities where you can find hours and schedules for open swim.
If you have any questions about aquatic exercise, or are unsure what injuries and conditions may benefit from aquatic exercise, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] and take advantage of a free pain consultation at one of our three convenient locations.