Swimming To Relieve Arthritis Pain

Swimming is always thought of to be a fun activity.  Some people find it very relaxing to lay on a raft and drift around the pool on a hot summer day.  But not many realize that swimming can be very therapeutic.  Swimming in a warm pool can help relieve inflammation.  Inflammation can cause joint pain.  Joint pain and inflammation are just a few of the known symptoms of arthritis.

Swimming is a natural way of reducing these symptoms but not many are aware of it.  Some people may not know how to swim and this stops them from benefitting from this treatment.  But it shouldn’t.  You can’t be afraid of the water but you don’t have to be an excellent swimmer to benefit.

It’s not necessary to do a specific stroke in a warm pool to ease joint pain.  All you have to do is can just walk around inside the pool.  This can ease pain in the foot, ankle, knee, and hip.

Crouching (leaving just the head above water), moving the arms and wrists in a criss-crossing motion can have an effective outcome on the fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders.

Arthritis sufferers can experience achiness and pain that keeps them from doing normal daily activities.  Their range of motion may be affected.  This can stop them from doing any type of exercise which is beneficial in treating arthritis symptoms.  By being in the water it makes them weightless allowing more movement without pain which by far is a relief.

There are a few easy swimming strokes one can master with a little practice and determination such as:

The doggie paddle – is a combination of kicking the legs while moving the hands underwater in a scratching motion to help stay afloat.

The crawl – this stroke is similar to the doggie paddle, with the exception of the use of hands.  In this stroke you use your arms in an overhead through the water pulling the water towards you repeatedly and alternately.

There are many different swimming strokes that can be used to relieve a specific joint’s pain.  But there are also some strokes that can do more harm than good such as the breast stroke.  The breast stroke requires the legs to be used in a frog kick motion which can cause added pain to the knee. You may not feel the pain while doing them because of being so weightless in the water but upon getting out the adverse effect will be noticeable.

This is why it is a good practice to always speak with a healthcare professional or physical therapist when it comes to adding this type of treatment to your regime.  Everyone is different and a healthcare professional can help decide what treatments are best for your condition.

It is also an important factor if you are using swimming as a treatment to practice water safety.  If you aren’t an experienced swimmer you shouldn’t swim alone.  This is especially true for a non-swimmer arthritis sufferer who may experience a flare up of arthritis pain, or cramping.