7 Reasons Swimming Is Safe For Your Joints

By Pooja Kaushal

Saturday, January 30, 2016, 16:34 [IST]

To live a healthy life, it is important to indulge in some kind of an exercise or a physical activity every day. All the bones, joints and muscles need to be put to some exertion to keep them fit and in shape.

You do not have to wait for your doctor or a medical advisor to tell you that it is time you take up some kind of an exercise. Exercise is something that should be a compulsory part of the day.

There are many of us who suffer from some kind of an ailment and, hence, find excuses for not exercising.

For example people with joint pains often say that a little bit of exertion will result in an unbearable pain and hence make it a reason to skip exercising.

They do not realise that by not exercising they are doing more harm to themselves than by exercising. If you too are one such person suffering from painful joints then do not make excuses.

Exercise will surely make your joints pain; however, there is one form of an exercise that is absolutely safe for your joints and that is swimming.

We can give you at least 7 reasons why swimming is safe for your joints. So, what makes swimming safe?

In fact, it is not only safe, it is a very effective form of an exercise for those who cannot perform high-intensity workouts in a gym. Let us see why swimming is safe for your joints, shall we?

1.Low impact:

Compared to all other sports, swimming has a very low impact on the body. A low-impact exercise does not lead to much stress, yet gives the benefits of a complete workout.

2.Minimises pain:

When indulging in ground exercises, those suffering from joint pains can feel the pain. It is often one of the reasons why people opt out of exercises after a couple of sessions. Swimming is rather the opposite. It hardly makes you feel the pain.

3.High resistance with low pressure:

Walking in water is far more difficult than walking in water. If you have joint pains, or just wish to take up exercises that are easy on the joints, then swimming is just the thing for you.

4.Higher calorie burning:

Swimming may be a low-impact exercise, but the number of calories it burns is far more than most other exercises performed on land.

You can be doing any stroke but the amount of effort you put in and the calories you burn are worth every stroke. Not only do you burn calories, but also tone your entire body.

5.Pain soother:

Many pools have warm water in them. Here, one of the 7 reasons swimming is safe for your joints comes as a soothing treatment. Hot water fomentation is often advised for joint pains.

The same treatment is felt in a warm water pool. While you exercise, you also receive some relaxing warm water treatment.

6.Joint flexibility maintained:

Why swimming is safe for your joints is also because it involves the movement of every muscle and joint in your body.

The more you move your muscles, the more flexibility they maintain. Our joints are also like machine parts, which need to be moved to keep them functioning.

7.One exercise many muscles worked:

When you workout in a gym, you need to perform different exercises for different parts of the body. With joint pains, you will not be able to perform many of those exercises; however, swimming is one such exercise that you can do safely. This one exercise is enough to workout and tone every body part and muscle.