Given the popularity of traditional spas, medical spas and healing spas, it’s no secret that immersing yourself in water can be comforting and soothing. It’s a primordial pleasure: After all, you spent your first nine months bathed in amniotic fluid in the womb, and as an adult, 60 to 70 percent of your body is made up of water. So it makes perfect sense that being in water feels good. But here’s something that may surprise you: Exercising in water, even when you’re in pain, can make movement more comfortable and more beneficial.
In fact, research has found that exercising in water can help relieve pain from back and hip problems, arthritis, fibromyalgia and other musculoskeletal disorders. In a 2016 study involving 20 women with fibromyalgia, researchers in Spain and Belgium found that 10 treatment sessions of water-based Ai Chi (which is similar to Tai Chi in a pool) led to significant improvements in the participants’ pain perception, sense of vitality, emotional health and overall quality of life. A 2015 study from New Zealand found that pain reduction was a major benefit and reason why older adults with osteoarthritis participated in aqua-based exercise. And a 2015 study from the Netherlands found that doing aqua-cycling provided immediate pain relief to people with osteoarthritis of the knee.
[See: Osteoarthritis and Activity: Walking It Out.]
There are several reasons why exercising in water is beneficial for those with chronic pain conditions. For one thing, “the buoyancy of the water essentially offloads almost all the weight that’s on your bones and joints,” explains Dr. Bruce Becker, a clinical professor of medicine in the department of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. This means there’s very little impact to your bones and joints when you exercise in water. Plus, “the pressure of the water tends to reduce swelling in injured tissues because of the compression, which changes circulatory patterns” in the body, Becker says.
Another perk: Exercising in water allows a person to have more of a range of motion, which enhances flexibility, notes Dr. Kimberly Sackheim, an assistant professor of interventional pain management and rehabilitation medicine at the NYU Langone Medical Center. “Working out in water works the muscles going both ways — the flexor muscles and the extensor muscles — which is a good way to tone and strengthen muscles on both sides without pain.” This is significant, she says, because it helps prevent muscle imbalances from developing and improves overall movement efficiency.
[See: 8 Lesser-Known Ways to Ruin Your Joints.]
A 2014 Cochrane review of studies found that when compared to a control group, aquatic exercise training helps people with fibromyalgia improve their quality of life and physical functionality and may reduce their pain and stiffness. “The improvement in pain may be due in part to the warmth of the water, which provides immediate benefits for muscle pain or stiffness that often limit exercise tolerance on land,” explains lead author Julia Bidonde, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway.
Indeed, being immersed in either warm water or very cold water can also decrease the body’s sensitivity to pain, Becker adds, making it more comfortable to exercise. And “being in water dampens your sensory input, which can have a calming effect on your body and mind,” Sackheim says. “This can help people increase their tolerance to exercise mentally and physically.”
A 2012 study from Spain found that deep-water running had a significant effect in reducing pain and disability among people with low back pain. Deep-water running is effective at reducing pain because “it minimizes pressure and compression of the lumbar spine, allows people to work harder for longer at a lower heart rate and it reduces fear of movement, which is common among people with low back pain,” explains study lead author Antonio Cuesta-Vargas, a professor of physiotherapy at the University of Malaga in Spain. Fear of movement is often a challenge for people with chronic pain, and people are less afraid of moving in water because they know it will soften the impact and pressure on their joints and muscles and have soothing effects, he adds.
[See: 10 Seemingly Innocent Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore.]
When it comes to exercising in water, there’s a hierarchy of intensity: On the low-intensity side of the spectrum is Ai Chi, followed by pool-walking, shallow-water aerobics classes and aqua Zumba; higher up on the scale are swimming laps (with the stroke of your choice), aqua-cycling and deep-water running (with a flotation vest). Your best bet, experts say, is to start slowly and gradually increase the frequency and intensity of your water-based workouts as your pain level goes down and your fitness level goes up. Many gyms, health clubs and community pools offer water-based exercise classes, or you can opt to do pool walking, running or lap swimming on your own.
Keep in mind: “The pain-reducing effects [of water-based exercise] tend to be additive over time,” Becker says. “It gets better, the more you do it.” So take the plunge!
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The Water Remedy for Pain originally appeared on usnews.com
