As we continue our look at chronic pain I thought we’d turn our focus onto some of the practical ways to help ease pain. I want to start with a little disclaimer. First, I am not saying that all pain can be relieved at all times by just simply using these exercises or any of the suggestions in these posts. There are so many different situations that I couldn’t even begin to address and nor do I have the educational background or training to address. Also, please consult your physician before trying any exercises on this site and  particularly if you suffer from any chronic pain.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s start talking about water exercise. There are so many benefits to water exercise for any body, young or old, chronic pain or non. Here is a short list:

1) Water exercise reduces impact on joints.

2) Water exercise is a “liquid weight machine” and therefore can be beneficial for many of the same reasons we do weight bearing exercises.

3) Because of buoyancy (the ability to float or seem lighter) there is less chance of falling down and thus providing more freedom to move.

Come back next week to learn about specific exercises and therapy pools.

Some information provided by Fitness Theory & Practice, AFAA Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, 2002.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 3:46 pm and is filed under Water Exercise, Suffering and Chronic Pain, Special Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.