Fit Tips From Our Personal Trainers
Jan 2010
Why should someone utilize water therapy to assist in recovery of a ski injury?
Initially, an injury will present with increased swelling, decreased motion, and pain. This is the body’s way of protecting the injured site. It becomes very frustrating and as time goes on that person is not able to get back to the sport they love. Water can speed in the recovery and get someone back on the slopes.
Apart from the classic RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), water can help aid the healing process. There are tools we can use in the pool to decrease or eliminate weight bearing completely. Buoyant equipment can support a person as they move a part through range of motion. Immersion in the water along with vigorous exercise increases blood supply to the muscle tissues and this helps eliminate waste. Hydrostatic pressure of the water also offsets the tendency of blood pooling in the lower extremities. So individuals with muscle spasms and injuries will benefit greatly from immersion in water.
Water increases the lymphatic drainage to decrease edema. Water’s natural massage qualities will lessen pain and increase the stretch qualities of soft tissue. This allows the therapist the ability to increase range of motion while hopefully keeping edema and pain at bay.
As the injury heals and weight bearing comes into play, again there are tools and equipment we can use. Water is 6 to 15 times more resistant than air. A knowledgeable practitioner can utilize many tools to increase resistance. In water, we are able to work both agonist and antagonist muscle groups since the resistance is in both directions. In the water we can also begin to address coordination, balance, trunk, and head stability. In conjunction, we can work on alignment and kinesthetic sense.
As in any type of rehabilitation process, there is always a transition phase. Here it would be from water to land. Initially we can imitate ski motions in the water and add more resistive types of exercise in water. Then make the transition to land. There are numerous studies that have shown the transition from water to land is a smooth transition, even more so than just land practice. Water gives a complete feedback cycle since all motions are equally resisted. The participant gets maximum feedback to make corrections that may even decrease risk of another injury.
So for someone who has never considered the pool their ally, I would recommend a session with a knowledgeable trainer. It might change the way you view water exercise. You may even see improvement in performance. I am available for training sessions at Cranmore Family Fitness Center. Just ask for Krista Dimock, OTR/L for a session. It may be the change to your routine you need.