More and more professional and collegiate sports programs are adopting aquatic therapy as part of their training regimen. Due to the natural buoyancy and resistance of water, it creates an ideal environment for athletes to practice form, mobility, and flexibility as it allows for a full range of motion.
Alberto Salazar, Olympic coach and NYC Marathon champion, recommends that his athletes combine both dry land running and underwater treadmill training. This not only strengthens the same muscles used in running, but it will also allow the runner to focus on their form. The athlete can perfect any mistakes that may be causing unnecessary stress during dry-land running. Some of the more advanced aquatic therapy pool manufacturers even offer under-water video recording to help easily identify any irregularities in the athlete’s movement.
The healing rate of many injuries can be sped up dramatically by using warm water therapy pools. Due to the buoyancy effect of water, impact pressure is decrease by up to 90% depending on how much of the body is submerged. This will he prevent any further injuries. Many professional teams are incorporating aquatic therapy into their training and recovery programs. For example, the European Futbol club Manchester united purchased an exercise pool, the Hydroworx 500i, to be used in their training facility. One of their star attackers, Cristiano Ronaldo, used the pool to recover from ankle surgery a month earlier than originally expected. The Philadephia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, The Pittsburg Steelers, and many other professional and collegiate teams are using these pools in a similar manner.
If you are currently suffering from any sports or impact-related injuries, aquatic therapy may be of help. I recommend you check with your local athletic facilities and see if they offer any classes. With a little patience, you should be ready to hit the road running in no time.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I just saw a piece on TV that debunked the idea of “hitting the road running” would increase the time of getting to the end faster.
It would seem it would be much better to just get started from a dead stop than to try to hit the road running.
However, the idea of aquatic theropy does look good. I can see where it could be a major benefactor to those who have been injured in some way.
Aquatic therapy is absolutely a great way of exercising without any pressure on your joints and it is good for recovery as well.I used to be a boxer (10 years ago….) but for some reason the trainers did not like the combination of swimming and boxing.They all said it was bad for your muscles (for boxing)?Maybe someone could give me a solid explanation for this?
Aquatic therapy…i never thought that fitness and exercises would go so far. but this exercise looks interesting. the fact is that I’m not stable when it comes to fitness and exercise but i think i have to try this one.
i do agree with this post. Training underwater should maximize the usage of our muscle as the water pressure is there. Not to mention, it’s also a fun way of workout..
Great post. I know for a fact that Aquatic Therapy is great. I have had two knee surgeries and both times I have received some sort of Aquatic Therapy in conjuction with traditional therapy and it really helped. The weightlessness helps a lot with flexsion and pain management. Thanks for your post.
Thanks for this post. I have had some of my Tai Chi students with mobility problems tell me that in addition to the Tai Chi they also take some water classes at the local fitness center. They report that the aquatic classes are great for them because they can go through ranges of motion that would be impossible without the support from the water. I did not know about the underwater treadmills for rehab. One of my students could really use something like that to work on her gait.