You can use your local swimming pool to help you combat fibromyalgia. Using the water you can exercise, relax, reduce stress, increase movement and manage your pain. Water therapy is how you can us water to exercise with minimal impact on your joints.
With the use of water you can do many movements that would cause you pain if performed on land. In the water you are free to move as slow or as fast as you would like, with the water acting as a natural resistance for you. Try some water therapy and you will likely see a reduction in your fibromyalgia symptoms.
What is Water Therapy?
The use of water to help with your physical movement is what water therapy is. You can do water therapy with a trained physical therapist or perform this therapy on your own. The exercises in water therapy are designed to help you strengthen your muscles with the least amount of impact possible.
This reduces the stress on your joints and your muscles and provides your body a safe environment to move in. The worse part about exercising for fibromyalgia patients is the thought that the movements will cause them more pain, but with water therapy you will not have pain.
Warm or Cold
Cold water therapy is good for reducing inflammation. This type of water is easily available at your local swimming pool. You can join water aerobics, water yoga and other water based exercise classes. You might also try walking in the water or swimming laps if you would like to increase your movement but do not want to attend traditional water exercise class.
Warm water therapy is the most soothing for sore muscles. This is the type of water a physical therapist is most likely to use when working with you on a one to one basis. In warm water you muscles and joints are truly able to relax. Through the warm water you can stretch, strength train or do cardiovascular activities like walking. You might also enjoy a water massage or watsu therapy session that combines physical therapy and massage.
Exercise
You need to exercise and stay moving to keep your muscles from tightening up. Many fibromyalgia patients avoid exercise because they feel like moving their muscles will make the pain worse. The truth is, the more you do not move your muscles the more you will feel stiffness and pain. Getting moving and getting cardiovascular exercise is an essential part to you fighting the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
If exercising tends to cause you pain, then try water therapy or aerobics. The water will cushion your joints and offer you the ability to participate in activities that you would not feel comfortable doing if there was not water around.
Relaxation
It can be extremely hard to relax when you are struggling with fibromyalgia. A water therapist trained in using water to help patients can help teach you some relaxation techniques using a warm water pool. You can do simple floating activities or try more intense yoga poses. No matter what you are doing in the water, it tends to help you relax. Relaxing your muscles will help them release toxins and decrease your soreness and pain. You can combine water therapy with other relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing to give yourself a full body relaxation experience.
Stress
One of the biggest triggers for people with fibromyalgia is stress. Living a stressful life can include the daily tasks of your job, family and household. You can combat this daily stress by participating in some water therapy. Using either a cold or warm water pool you can perform exercises that will use your muscles and get your endorphins going. These exercises will help your body product a feeling of relaxation and the more you are able to relax the easier it will be to let go of the stress you have in your life. Stress is not something you need if you are dealing with fibromyalgia.
Movement
When your muscles become stiff it can be painful to stretch and move them. Through the use of water therapy you can regain your flexibility and movement. Your water therapist will help teach you how to stretch the muscles that are causing you the most pain.
Through consistent stretching you will help to release the toxins and give your muscles a change to absorb healthy nutrients. The water is also the perfect place to exercise if you have mobility issues or trouble walking. Water helps to support you in your movements and you can float or use your arms instead of only using your legs in the water.
Pain Management
Warm water therapy will instantly help to reduce painful muscles. Through this warm water, your muscles can absorb the heat and release the tightness and pain. Unlike pain medications, you can use warm water therapy as much as you would like.
You can do simply activities like walking, or you can just soak in the warm water and relax. Warm water therapy is a great way to help your body fight off the aches and pains of fibromyalgia. You might even find that you are able to reduce the amount of pain medication you are using once you begin a warm water therapy regimen.
Water is one of those things that most of us like to play around in. Water therapy is a great way to give your body the chance to relax while also having a fun and innovative way of treating your fibromyalgia. Warm water therapy is going to be best for you to relax with and cold water therapy will help reduce your inflammation.
You can use water therapy to help with a wide variety of symptoms from your fibromyalgia. Even people who do not suffer from fibromyalgia use water therapy to help them exercise, relax and reduce pain. Give water therapy a try and you will see an overall fun experience that is easy on your joints and better for your muscles.
Further reading:
Water Exercise for Fibromyalgia: Easing Deep Muscle Pain http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/features/water-exercise-for-fibromyalgia-easing-deep-muscle-pain
Fibromyalgia Takes to the Waters: http://www.aquaticnet.com/Article%20-%20Fibromyalgia%20takes%20to%20the%20waters.htm
http://www.wspt.org/blog/bid/37161/Fibromyalgia-and-Aquatic-Therapy
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