Whether recovering from a physical injury, dealing with an area of physical weakness or working out to build up your general physical health, aquatic therapy offers many advantages. The consistent, gentle levels of exercise available may be just what you need to succeed in a workout program.
What Is Aquatic Therapy?
Aquatic therapy is a detailed, focused exercise program performed totally in water. Many patients choose aquatic therapy over traditional workouts for its ability to achieve consistent, effective exercise while avoiding the pitfalls of overly intense activity.
Benefits of Aquatic Therapy
- Distributed Effect. Most workouts such as weight lifting or jogging target specific muscles or areas of the body, where aquatic therapy spreads the load more evenly across all affected areas. This creates a more uniform exercise experience and eliminates overdoing it in any given area. It is perfect for those with handicaps, difficult injuries or overweight builds.
- Full Body Workout. The actions of aquatic therapy aerobics tend to bring the whole body into the workout, providing a level of therapeutic benefit to nearly every area. While in the water, the whole body moves when one part is in motion, so your entire body gets involved.
- Consistent Resistance. Although water is fluid, it also retains certain motion-resistant characteristics that work against the movements of the body, so the workout becomes full-time instead of in spurts. Every action works muscles as they move in both directions, keeping the resistance consistent at all times and adding to the benefits.
- Direct Stimulation. Along with producing consistent resistance for giving all the muscle areas a solid workout, the weight of the water also provides constant pressure to the entire surface area of the body. This liquid pressure creates a massage-like effect, applying therapeutic conditioning to your muscles throughout the length of the session. The massaging effect helps tone and invigorate muscles at the same time as giving them a physical workout.
Getting Started
If you’re looking for aquatic therapy in Essex, check out Comprehensive Spine & Sports Center. Offering aquatic therapy, physical therapy, therapeutic massage and chiropractic care, the Comprehensive Spine & Sports Center has everything you need for rehabilitation and physical health. Call to schedule an appointment today.