Water Exercise Series: Compression Benefits

It’s no secret I love to talk about the power of water for healing, relaxing, and challenging (i.e. Stand Up Paddle Boarding) your Body.

I realized recently those are all ON top of the water and I haven’t really shared about the benefits of being IN the water.

Kind of funny considering it’s one of my favorite things to recommend to clients.

If you’ve got chronic pain and inflammation especially in your joints, water is one of the safest places for you to exercise.

Why?

There are many reasons but one of the most amazing benefits of water is something you can’t get on land:  HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE

This is the compression that water has on your body when you are IN it.

What’s the big deal?

Well, plenty…
 
Compression has a calming effect on the Body and can help reduce pain in your joints and muscles.

The pressure water provides also helps your:

• Heart function better by helping circulate the blood (increases venous return to heart)
• Lymph system drain (reduces swelling)
• Blood vessels become more flexible (reduces stenosis)

As we age, one of the things that happens is our blood vessels stiffen and this leads to elevated blood pressure.

So not only can you work on your joint flexibility and range of motion in the water, you’re actually helping your blood vessels do that too!

You don’t even have to move your body to get the benefits of hydrostatic pressure.

You just need to be standing or sitting in the water. 

Of course- if you exercise, you’ll increase these benefits.

All this pumping of fluids while IN water is why it’s important to drink lots of fluids when you get OUT of the water.

It’s just like when you get a massage and you’re encouraged to hydrate after it to help the body flush all the toxins.

Ever notice you have to pee when you get out of the pool or lake?

That’s from all the pumping of fluids that your Body is ready to let go of.

Hydrostatic Pressure isn’t the only benefit of exercising IN water. 

NEXT UP- I’ll share why water isn’t just for cardio workouts.

In the meantime… you can soak in your tub with some Epsom salt (& lavender) if you don't have access to a pool right now.

It’s not as intense as the pool but it’s still providing compression to your Body and gives a boost to your circulatory and lymph systems.

P.S. Ready to be active & agile at any age? Download your FREE Relaxed Body Toolkit to get started here.