Water sports are recommended to people with arthritis. Even water sports are often used to help those who are in rehabilitation after joint replacement.
In fact, in addition to maintaining a healthy body, exercise is also very important when you have arthritis. Stay active proven to be beneficial for people with arthritis, including reducing pain and improving flexibility. And one of the sports recommended for people with arthritis are water sports.
Water Sport Exercise Benefits
- Increase flexibility and range of motion without putting pressure on the joints and spine.
- Improve the function of joints that are painful without worsen the symptoms.
- Improve health.
- Reduce pain.
- Water is a substance that can make the floating body. When doing water sports, water helps the body and the joints do not need to work hard. Because of the water, the body is almost no gravity, so the body loses 90 percent of its weight. It keeps the body free to move without spending a lot of energy.
- Water also creates a natural resistance when you move your body. It makes muscles like trained with weights without the need for tools.
- If exercising in the pool with warm water (28° - 31° Celsius), there are additional benefits that can be felt, which help to relieve pain in the joints.
Water sports for arthritis patients
Do not make your arthritis as a barrier activities, especially exercise. There's no doubt benefits of exercise for physical fitness. Here are a few water sports are good for arthritis.
Swimming
Besides useful to maintain health and weight loss, water sports is also very good for arthritis patients, especially freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Freestyle most recommended because it makes the body, neck, hands, and spine rotates and moves lightly. While backstroke help strengthen the muscles of the back and shoulders, support and lengthen the spine, and help open the chest cavity. And breaststroke able to strengthen back muscles. But the need to step carefully when swimming breaststroke, because it can give excessive pressure on the neck and lower back.
Water Aerobic
If it is the first time you do water sports, start slowly by walking in a pool of shallow water. Then gradually increase the intensity of exercise, ranging from swimming with waist-deep water up to chest height. Furthermore, add movements that use both arms and legs. And do not forget to always do five minutes of warming up and stretching at the beginning and end of exercise.
Walking in the Pool
When walking in the water, use the same technique as when walking on the ground, by retracing your feet from heel and ends at the toe. If you want to do this water sport, wear the buoys to keep safety.
Sports exercise in deep water
Deep water is able to prevent injury when performing high-intensity athletic sports. You can jog, run, sit ups, and do many other things, but you need the life vest to do all these activities.
Before you start doing water sports, ask your doctor whether exercise is safe for you. Besides, also ask what movements or water sports should be avoided. When exercise, start by stretching to warm up the body. Perform each stretch or warm up slowly to avoid putting pressure on the joints, and end with cooling.
Keep in mind not to exercise if you are experiencing severe arthritis or accompanied by swelling. Be sure to wait until the pain stops and swelling subside. If you suddenly feel sick, dizzy, or short of breath, stop immediately and consult a doctor.
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