h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Hydrotherapy and aquarobics - A969564
Author: brislib - U206015






Hydrotherapy and Water Aerobics

Introduction

In the mountains of Japan , there is a colony of macacques that spend time sitting in hot springs as a protection against the cold . One researcher attributed the habit to a wise old mother macacque who seemed to find ease from her joint pains in the hot water

Bathing in hot springs has been part of mankind’s history , apparently from the beginning . There are numerous records of the habit , and many famous hot springs with long histories of use, on every continent

The Ancient Greeks used therapeutic baths , as did the Romans , the Chinese , Japanese and Native American Indians . Father Sebastian Kneipp brought it to the fore in the Nineteenth Century . Ther e are innumerable *watering places* all over the world , and where would many of the novelists of the time have been without the recourse of their characters *taking the waters * ?


Why Use Hydrotherapy ?

As people age , their joints stiffen and are often very painful to move , particularly when arthritis comes into the equation Therefore regular exercise becomes important to keep the joints flexible and the muscles strong . No doubt many find the mere indulgence in exercise to be a boost to their feelings of well being

Endorphins or *endogenous morphine* , produced by the body are anti stress hormones that relieve pain naturally. It is believed that they are released by exercise ( of any kind , including sex) and also by laughter

For Instance a gentle wallk i s often used to boost the heart rate as a mild aerobic exercise , but the walk may become painful when pressure is put on the weight bearing joints of hips , knees and ankles , together with the spine . Therefore a low-impact solution is required

Overcoming problems

An answer to this problem can be found in the development of exercises in water

The body weighs between 50 and 90 % less when immersed at varying depths . Shoulder deep water supports the exerciser almost totally Not only does this help remove the problem of impact , but immersion has the added benefit of allowing any required extra exertion to be carried out without overheating the body . There are studies that show that water therapy assists the recuperation from injury by halving the time for recovery.

Exercising need not be a lonely process but can be done in groups , a practice mostly found in hospital pools or their equivalent , but it can be done individually

The simplest exercise is swimming , which in itself can be most enjoyable , both as muscle/joint developer and as a mental relaxation,

They can be graded according to the need of the person using the treatment .
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The role of the physiotherapist

There are physiotherapists who specialise in taking groups in the pools attached to the hydrotherapy unit of hospitals or special centres .These pools are generally heated to above the average , e.g. the mid thirties on the centigrade scale .

Some of these therapists use specialised equipment such as flotation devices , or attachments that help upgrade water resistance , like being able to do stationary swim ming against a gentle jet of water There are even some very special devices such as underwater treadmills. On the other hand , your own underwater walking or even jogging track is feasible



Water Aerobics


Aquarobic classes can be found to suit almost any level of fitness , from the quite vigorous for those who like a workout in the cooler pools to the gentle ones which use warm pools

These exercises can be done in public pools , but there are precautions to be observed. There is not a lot of point in attempting exercises in the midst of an amateur water polo game . Getting to and from , into an out of the pools should be made easy for the aging ,

A strange advantage of workouts in water is found in the *Diving Reflex* With this the heart actually increases in size by a small amount and is able to pump more blood with each beat , decreasing blood pressure with a lowered pulse rate . The lungs also benefit from the aerobic effect

Workouts in spas are possible -- some very pleasurable indeed It seems that a good soaking in the higher temperature of spas lowers the internal body temperature ( Core temperature *) allowing you to sleep better This is a great stress reliever

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Safety Precautions


Naturally , consulting your doctor is a good start, especially for heart patients

Be careful when exercising alone in water . A knowlege of CPR helps in the group situation

Grade your exercises : begin with short sessions and gradually build up the time and effort.

Do not overdo it . You can get dizzy or nauseous even if you stay in warm water too long .

Take in fluids , (not of course the pool water ! ) This applies especially if you are in a hot spa , which can act on the body like a sauna and put stress on the cardio-vascular system

If you get pain from the exercises lessen the number of minutes of exercise , but do not give up exercising from day to day Do fewer repetitions and after any hard exercise , rest for half a minute Nevertheless. as with the beginnings of any exercises , some increased pain is normal Just don’t overdo it

Pregnancy is no bar to the exercises and many pregnant women find them beneficial , but check with your doctor

Get advice from experts on what exercises suit the alleviation of your problem

Some Exercises

Preparations and processes .

Use the same cycle for aquarobics as for land aerobics : Warm up first , reach your peak , maintain that peak , taper down and then warm down . You can make a change back to land exercises -- or vary from water to land as you prefer

Move slowly and gently in the water , beginning and ending with easy exercises , and utilising the resistance of the water Speed up only if you are comfortable.

Keep a stable footing in the pool, and keep the body part being exercised fully underwater

You may like to begin by walking through the water -- forwards and backwards with long strides , varying the depth of water used Always try to complete any joint movement , but don’t force it through sudden pain

Examples of exercises , working downwards on the body

1. Shoulders (underwater )


Reach out in front and slide hands to the side-- later using flat palms to increase resistance


Fingertips on shoulders and circle elbows backwards


Shoulder rolls , forwards and backwards , beginning by moving them upwards


Move arms up and down against water resistance

2 . Arms



Push out in all directions against the water , even punching , or with fingers stretched upwards or downwards


Bend elbows almost touching shoulders and straighten them


Turn and/or bend the wrists up and down


3.Spine




Feet apart , knees slightly bent , and twist waist from side to side>



4.Waist



Also with hands on hips , well balanced , twist waist from side to side


5.Hips and knees



Lift legs alternately out to the side and down again ( This can be done in a seated position)


From seated position raise a foot to straighten the knee , hold leg straight and then relax


6.Legs



Hold edge of pool and move legs as if riding a bicycle


Keep feet flat on bottom of pool , knees pressed outwards , and lunge from side to side


7.Ankles


Use similar exercise as that for wrists


Conclusion


Remember , listen to expert advice , and stay sprightly .

I have arthritis. This is a good article!

There are two more reasons you might choose to add to why Hydrotherapy might be useful. If you've been bedridden or otherwise immobile, you can't use normal weights to exercise. The other, is that the stronger you can make your muscles, the more they can take over for the now-weakened joints.

Perhaps to add to your Overcoming Obstacle section: Here in California, new public pools tend to have a long ramp down into the water, the length of one of the sides of the pool, and this goes to the kiddy-depth section. It makes getting in and out much easier. Until I found one like this, I had a devil of a time getting out of the pool and had to beg for help from disbelieving lifeguards.

The reason my husband likes hydrotherapy is because in the water he has time to react when he starts to fall - this means he can walk and stand unsupported in water when he can't out of it. People who have problems with balance are almost never reccomended to have hydrotherapy which seems odd to me as it can be incredibly useful.

As far as the balance thing goes, I'd think it's because any balancing you learn in the water probably isn't going to transfer above ground -- in fact, it could theoretically make things worse for some people, if the balance bits of the brain got used to functioning in water and then tried to react that way on land.

True - but it's useful for practicing walking independantly when you are unable to walk outside the water except with aids...and he did find his balance improved slightly - but probably more as a result of building up the muscles he needs for walking rather than the muscles he need to walk badly (if that makes sense).

Oddly enough he *has* just been transferred for official hydrotherapy - but he's had balance/walking probalems for 10 years so they do take their time over it. In his case the delay has been because of money problems within the NHS.

*Pushing this one up to the top of PR*

Some points --

I don't know about elsewhere, but here in the US, group hydrotherapy is definitely not limited to hospital pools. Almost every community pool I know of has a program, although they are usually offered during the middle of the day when people who have jobs can't go (on the erroneous assumption that only people who are retired or too disabled to work would benefit). They are pretty popular with area seniors. Many of these programs are sponsored by the Arthitis Foundation.

Here's some worthwhile links in that regard:

http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/water_exercise.asp
http://www.arthritis.org/events/getinvolved/ProgramsServices/AquaticProgram.asp


Mikey

You wanna do some more work on this entry brislib?

Well I would if I knew what more I could add that would not overdo the subject or make it more boring than it is !
Suggestions ? And if it is not good enough for an edited guide what should I do with it ( careful there ! )

Well I would if I knew what more I could add that would not overdo the subject or make it more boring than it is !
Suggestions ? And if it is not good enough for an edited guide what should I do with it ( careful there ! )

Sorry about the double post -- using someone else's IBM and not my familiar iMac

Well, what about the comments that have been made here in the thread? Some of those are issues that could (and in some cases, should) be incorporated into the entry. It wouldn't be a matter of making the entry longer or more boring, just a matter of making some edits, adding some bits and pieces here and there, adding some links.

This is how PR works -- people (like you) post their entries, and other people (like us) respond with their comments. Then you, as the author, are generally expected to either a) change the entry to reflect the comments and then post back to the thread saying what you've changed, or b) explain why you think it's better to leave the entry as is, and not change things in response to the comments.

When authors submit something to PR, and it gets some comments, but then the author never comes back and responds to the comments, eventually a scout pokes their up and says something like "Hey, are you still working on this?" This is because many people essentially 'abandon' their entries in PR -- they submit something to PR, then decide not to respond to any of the comments or work on the entry any further. When that happens, and a given amount of time passes, us Scouts are expected to do some 'housecleaning' and move the entry out of PR.

When the author *does* respond, then we know that it can usually stay in PR, and we don't have to worry about housecleaning.

Hope this helps explain some.


Mikey

Thanks for the advice , folks .

I will look through all the comments again as soon as I can -- just had an exhausting day with the grandkids and with navigating a new car through the heavy Sydney rains . Neither good for the nerves !

I honestly thought I had covered all the points suggested to me when I did some revising, but if someone will tell me specifically what I have missed , and how I should fit the material in , I am most willing to incorporate the suggestions , As an arthritic myself , I appreciate the need for hydrotherapy , hence the entry. I have swum a lot to strengthen muscles , and undergo a quite strenuous exercise routine for the same reason , to take the strain off the joints .

Flat out again tomorrow , so there is no chance of my digging up any more for myself before Friday at least

I am afraid I don"t know how to add in links-- I will definitely need expert advice on this .

As long as we know that an entry hasn't been abandoned we don't mind leaving it in PR... within reason. If you're going to Tibet for two years and can't get to a pc, then we'd ask you to remove it and re-submit when you get back.

For links and all things GuideML, have a look at the <./>GuideML-Clinic</.> It looks a bit daunting at first, but I got the hang of it and I'd never done any HTML coding before. If you don't want to mess around with that you don't have to, just as long as the entry looks tidy and you add a list of urls you want to link to and where in the entry you want the link to be

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

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