Healthytalk8 What is Aquatic Exercise?
Contents
Aquatic exercise is also known as pool therapy or workout, that performed in water to improve health and performance.
These activities include swimming, aerobics, water yoga, and more on, and many people are interested in various forms of exercise.
Several studies have proven that exercise is one of the best ways to prevent several diseases, like cardiovascular, and even the risk of cancer (1)
Water exercise has low risk than normal exercise because of water density, For people who have joint issues, so water workout is best for them.
It is also beneficial for older seniors, if you don’t know how to swim, it can also help you with specific tools.
Aquatic exercise Benefits
There are several benefits of water exercise or therapy which include:
Helpful During Pregnancy
During pregnancy your abdominal harder to handle, and in water where density works as a supporter to lift your belly up.
Pregnancy is a complicated situation, where every work like daily housework and exercises are stopped.
A water exercise program conducted on pregnant women has shown improvement in sleep, physical development, and happiness (2)
Swimming and other water exercise are considered one of the safest exercises for pregnant women (3).
As well as encourage women to involve in a daily physical workout, that prevents the risk of pregnancy (4)
It may help in losing weight
A 6-week study, performed by obese people, result shown that aqua jogging exercise, showed improvement in weight loss, and fitness.
Aqua jogging exercise is a deep water exercise, which is used as low-impact training.
Pool exercise provides resistance, which raises metabolism by becoming muscles work harder, but does not show a quick response in weight reduction.
Check Out – Obesity – Dozens of Effect On The Body, And Reasons
Support Knees
Regular swimming is a great form of exercise for patients with arthritis, and also helps in reducing joint pain and stiffness (5).
A meta-analysis of (AE) showed knee and hip osteoarthritis patients showed positive effects on pain, stiffness, physical function, and quality of life.
However, another study revealed that APT cannot improve joint stiffness and QOL in individuals with knee OA.
Researchers found that (APT) can improve knee extension muscle strength, but also effectively reduced (Timed-Up-and-Go Test) TUGT to a great extent.
Helpful for Seniors
Yes, AE help in older adults, where it helps knee pain individuals to minimize the impact load on the surface.
A light aerobic capacity of aquarobics can reduce the risk of heart disease, and the second is a vital consideration for seniors.
Studies showed that AT can reduce the risk of falls in seniors, by improving physical strength, flexibility, and balance.
Lower Back Pain
Aquatic exercise can significantly reduce pain and enhance physical activity in people with low back pain (6)
Lower back pain is most commonly seen in most people around the world, followed by upper pain, and middle (7)
However, there are several other exercises that are way better than water exercises which include:
- Certain yoga include – Bhadra asana, cobra, cow, setu bandhasana, and dhanurasana
- Breathing exercise
- massage
- acupuncture
- relaxation techniques
- chiropractic care
An aquatic therapist often suggests chronic lower back pain, where water becomes an ideal environment to treat back pain (8) (9).
Reduce the chance of blood clot
BC is a gel-like material of blood that forms in your veins or arteries responsible for preventing excessive bleeding when you are injured.
It also reduces blood retention in the legs and fatigue as it is carried out in a streamlined rather than a standing position.
Swimming has been said to enhance venous return and lower the risk of heart problems (10)
Other benefits
- improving flexibility and strength
- balance disorders
- increases cardiovascular health
- reduce pain in patients with arthritis
Tai Chi and Aquatic Exercise
Tai chi and aquatic exercise both are different and unique methods to bring well-being.
At first, tai chi roots are connected to martial arts, which its primary aim is to calm down stress levels and give posture to the body.
Tai chi is a combination of yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, and different styles of tai chi.
Whereas aquatic exercise is based on water, like swimming, underwater treadmill, biking, and other specific exercises.
But performing tai chi and aquatic exercise together brings several benefits, like improved balance, flexibility, and overall well-being.
If you already have health issues or you are pregnant, then make sure, to consult a healthcare provider before starting any new physical activity.
What Happens After 30 minutes of Aquatic Exercise?
Various things happen after 30 minutes of aquatic exercise that you can see changes in overall body include:
Increased heart rate – workout in the water makes muscles hard to move, which increases heart rate and it is good for cardiovascular health.
Build stamina – Jogging or underwater biking makes every move harder which builds stamina and improves muscle strength and tone.
Improve breathing – Holding breath in water can improve the lung capacity of holding oxygen over time, which is good for the lungs.
Burn more calories – It depends on how hard you work out, also well-planned diet help in to burn more calories to reduce excessive weight.
Reduce stress – An ideal temp of water releases endorphins (a natural painkiller) that promote pleasure feeling, that reduce stress, and anxiety.
Hot showers can release the production of oxytocin hormone in the body, which eases stress, and anxiety levels.
Improve balance and flexibility – Resistance in water and unstable improve individuals’ balance and flexibility (11)
Overall, 30 minutes of water exercise can significantly bring positive effects on the body, which improved health by doing it on regular basis.
Risks
Like normal exercises, water exercise also has risks, especially for those who don’t know how to swim, here are some risks are:
1. Risk of slips and falls – This risk of falls increases around the sides of the pool where the surface is wet, leading to injury.
2. Hypothermia – It is a serious medical condition, where the body loses heat faster than usual, due to extremely cold water temp (13)
So make sure, the water temp should be warm and not too hot and cold.
3. Risk of waterborne disease -Not maintaining proper hygiene in water, the be home to several waterborne diseases which leads to serious matters.
4. Drowning – If you don’t know how to swim, so be on the swallow water also applied for pregnant women.
The risk of drowning also occurs when you are tired during exercise (14)
5. Overuse – Spending more to more time in the water may increase the risk of joint injury, and other water-related issues can raise.
Do You Require Any Specific Tools?
It depends on what type of aquatic exercise you performed, but if you performed under a therapist in the fitness center.
Then the center will give you some equipment (12) such as:
- Buoyancy belts
- noodles
- aquatic dumbles
- kickboards
Also, some luxurious pools and centers already have underwater treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals.
Not all water exercises require tools, like swimming, and water jogging.
Safety Guidelines
If you are pregnant and wanna go into water exercises, make sure don’t do these to prevent pregnancy complications are:
- Avoid warm water swimming during pregnancy
- stop swimming, if you feel too hot, nauseous, in pain, bleeding, or have vaginal discharge
- avoid jumping, diving
- If do not know how to swim, then take someone with you, or stay in shallow water.
Now, the following guidelines are for all are:
If you think you are in water and don’t need any water to hydrate yourself so it is your big mistake, so make sure to drink enough water.
Dehyration leads to dizziness, nausea, and fever, also chronic dehydration increases the risk of type II diabetes, cancer, high BP, and obesity.
If you are not a good swimmer, then make sure to use a floating device that will lift you up.
Stop exercise immediately if you experience or feel
- Dizziness
- nausea
- breathing issues like difficulty in breathing
- fatigue
- feel pressure on your chest
During summer, make sure to use sunscreen to avoid tanning and sunburn, and avoiding it over time may lead to skin cancer.
Where Can I find It?
You can easily find Aquatic exercises near you, by trying the following methods are:
By searching online – You can use google Maps or use bing search to find it near you.
Social media – you can check social media platforms where you find fitness centers, classes, and community pools.
There are other ways like a phone book, community center, and ask for others about water exercises.
But I think you can easily find AE by searching online through social media.
Down Line
Aquatic exercises are also known as pool therapy or workout while performing specific design water exercises are involved.
Like other exercises, it also has some risks like the risk of falling on the wet surfaces around the pool, waterborne diseases, etc.
Pregnant ladies should take more precautions, however, it is one of the best ways to take comfort, but it should do under supervision.
