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Motion is Lotion; Using Your Swim Spa for Pain Relief
Are you one of the 1.5 billion people in the world who suffer from chronic pain? If so, then maybe your swim spa can help to better manage your symptoms and improve your overall quality of life.
There are numerous benefits that warm water has on reducing pain. Water is a very supportive medium and can reduce body weight up to 90% when submerged up to your neck. This unloading provides a gentle traction on painful joints and helps reduce any type of swelling or inflammation you may have.
Warm water can help to increase your flexibility. On land, it may be too painful to move. Warm water lessens stiffness, decreases pain and make it easier to move your joints and improve flexibility.
Water is a surrounding medium and provides the body 360-degrees of support. This support can help improve your body awareness which can assist in improving movement and preventing injury.
The resistance of water can be up to 15x greater than air. This provides a very safe and accommodating resistance which means that the harder you push against the water the more resistance you will get. This resistance can help to build muscle strength and improve overall function.
Stress reduction and relaxation are some of the most important aspects of controlling any type of pain. Your swim spas warm water helps to provide pain and stress relief by providing sensory stimulation throughout the entire body. Using the swim spas jets adds further benefit to promote increased muscle flexibility and relaxation. This can help improve sleep and fight depression which is important for everyone especially those suffering with chronic pain.
Motion is Lotion: I always tell my clients that too much sitting is the worse thing that they can do for their body. But when they have significant pain it can be too difficult for them to move. This causes them to lose flexibility and strength and become even more stiff and painful. This tends to be a viscous cycle. The water is sometimes the only place that they can move and exercise comfortably.
A swim spa is not necessarily the fountain of youth but for those suffering with chronic pain it is pretty close.
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 25 years. Rick is the Owner of Swim Spa Exercise, a virtual training company to help people maximize the use of their swim spas. He wants everyone to Move Better and Live Better.
For more information of how to maximize the use of your Swim Spa and how to Move Better and Live Better visit.
Arthritis Pain Relief in Your Swim Spa
Not Just Your Grandma’s Arthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. There's a 50-50 chance that at some point in your life, you are going to develop osteoarthritis. I would not buy a lottery ticket with those odds!
In OA the strong, flexible substance that cushions your joints called cartilage begins to break down, leading to symptoms such as pain, stiffness, swelling particularly in the joints of the knee, hip, spine, hands and feet. Even though the cause of OA is unknown, age, gender, excess body weight, previous joint injury, occupation and genetics are all contributing factors.
Over the past decade knee replacement surgeries have tripled in the 45-to-64 age group because of OA.
One of the most effective ways to treat OA is to exercise. Your swim spa is one of the most comfortable and effective places a person with arthritis can exercise. Here’s why:
Water significantly reduces the impact on your joints making it much easier to move.
Water allows improved joint flexibility, which will improve range of motion and general mobility.
Water provides up to 12-15 times the resistance of air, allowing you to really strengthen your muscles and bones.
Your swim spas warm water and jets will aide in reducing any pain associated with OA.
Your spas current or jetted system can assist to improve cardiovascular fitness, calorie burning and weight loss.
The water 3 dimensional surrounding properties can help improve your balance, coordination and walking mechanics which then can transfer to land.
Your swim spa obviously provides significant benefits from a low impact standpoint. However, it is also a great place to get a high intensity workout.
A recent study with patients who suffered from OA and participated in a 6 week high intensity aquatic workout reduced joint pain and improved balance, function, and their overall mobility
Your swim spa can help to significantly alleviate and improve the symptoms associated with Osteoarthritis.
It is not necessarily the Fountain of Youth, but it’s pretty close.
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Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 25 years. Rick is the Owner of Swim Spa Exercise, a virtual training company to help people maximize the use of their swim spas. He wants everyone to Move Better and Live Better.
For more information of how to maximize the use of your Swim Spa and how to Move Better and Live Better visit.
