Benefits of Water Sports for Arthritis

Water sports are good for arthritis sufferers. In fact, water sports are often used to help those who are in rehabilitation after undergoing joint replacement surgery. Want to exercise, but your joints hurt? Yet in addition to maintaining a healthy body, exercise is also very important to do when you suffer from arthritis. Staying active is proven to be beneficial for arthritis sufferers, including reducing pain and increasing body movement flexibility. One of the recommended sports for arthritis sufferers is water sports.

The benefits of water sports

There are many reasons why water sports are the right choice for arthritis sufferers, some of which are:

• Increases flexibility and range of motion without putting pressure on the joints and spine.
• Restoring the function of joints that are painful, without making symptoms worse.
• Improve health and maintain body fitness.
• Reducing pain.
• Water is a substance that can make the body float. When doing water sports, water supports the body so that the joints do not need to work hard. Why? Because in water, the body has almost no gravity so the body loses 90 percent of its weight.
• Water also creates natural damping power when you move your body. This makes muscles feel like training with weights without the need for tools.
• If you exercise in a swimming pool with warm water (28-31 degrees Celsius), there are additional benefits that can be felt, namely to help relieve pain in the joints.

Types of Water Sports You Can Choose

No doubt the benefits of exercise for body fitness. Do not make arthritis as a barrier for you to do various activities, especially sports. Physical activity is proven to have a good effect on arthritis. Here are some good water sports for arthritis, namely:

• Swimming

Besides being useful for maintaining health and weight, swimming is also very good for arthritis sufferers, especially freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke. Freestyle is most recommended because it makes the spine rotate and move lightly and strengthen the position of body bones including the neck and arms. While the back style helps strengthen the muscles of the back and shoulders, supports and improves the position of the spine, and helps relieve the chest cavity. While breaststroke can strengthen back muscles. However, you need to be careful when swimming breaststroke, because it can exert excessive pressure on the neck and lower back.

• Water aerobics

If this is your first time doing water sports, start slowly by walking in shallow water pools. Then increase the exercise intensity gradually, starting from the pool with waist-high water to chest level. In addition, add movements that use both arms and legs. And don't forget to always do five minutes of warming up and cooling, at the beginning and end of the sport. If necessary, you can ask the help of a physiotherapist who can show you good movement techniques according to your condition.

• Walk in water

When walking in water, use the same technique as when walking on the ground, namely by putting your feet starting from the heel and ending at the toe. If you want to do water sports in a pool that is deep enough, wear a buoy to maintain safety.

• Gymnastics in the water

Not only for swimming, you can also do certain gymnastic movements in the pool to train your body's muscle strength. The movements that can be done are:
- Sideways (tic-toc).
The way to position the body in a swimming pool whose water is as high as the solar plexus. Spread your legs shoulder width apart, then lower the left side of the body to the side until the left elbow is submerged in water. Then restore the body position as before, do the same movement on the right side of the body. Repeat this movement 8 times.
- Gymnastics by the pool (flutter kick).
Position yourself facing the edge of the pool. Support the upper body by placing both arms on the edge of the pool. Then flap your legs like freestyle swimming with your legs straight, keeping your body afloat. This movement can be done as long as you do not feel too tired.

Before doing water sports, it is better to ask your doctor whether the sport is safe for you. Also, ask what movements or water sports should be avoided. When exercising, start by stretching to warm the body. Do each stretch or warm up with the correct movements and slowly, so as not to put pressure on the joints. End the exercise with cooling. Also keep in mind not to exercise, if the arthritis you experience is severe enough or accompanied by swelling. Wait until the pain stops and the swelling subsides. If when you do water sports you suddenly feel sick, dizzy, or out of breath, stop immediately and call a doctor.