Warm Water Exercise for Fibromyalgia

By Vivienne Clark


Weak muscle groups with prevalent muscle pain is undoubtedly a reality for Fibromyalgia sufferers. Additionally, it appears that muscle tissue strength is substantially less in people experiencing Fibromyalgia. Numerous research studies have shown that if you have Fibromyalgia the optimum isometric and dynamic muscle power is lower when compared to healthy people. In other words, people being affected by Fibromyalgia are apt to have weaker knees and the surrounding muscle groups that support the knee tend to be weaker and less stable.

Other studies, which focused on resistance have shown lower outcomes in functional analysis relating to daily living, which includes sitting down and getting up from a chair, where diminished maximal muscle strength of knee extensors can be seen. This sort of weakness can lead to loss of mobility. You may have felt this yourself, when standing up is tricky. Your knees feel like they're going to buckle, and they're unable to support the weight of your whole body while lowering down to a sitting position, or coming up to a standing position. A great number of people with Fibromyalgia find it next to impossible, or at least incredibly hard to crouch down with knees bent and then try to stand up.

Becoming involved with low impact physical exercise including yoga, Tai Chi, walking, water aerobics, and low impact aerobics will often be recommended in treating Fibromyalgia. Balneotherapy and/or warm baths have been shown to manage muscle pain safely and effectively. The trouble is warm water exercise is harder to locate than land based exercise, therefore many Fibromyalgia sufferers may not have access to warm water exercise classes close by. However, it may be well worth the efforts to try and attend them if possible.

Studies have shown that Fibromyalgia patients benefited from reduced pain and weakness by using a combination of land based workout programs with warm water pool exercises. These forms of exercises also helped to enhance cardiovascular capacity and psychological well being. The purpose of one scientific study was to measure the short- and long-term effectiveness of exercise therapy inside of a warm, waist-high pool for women with Fibromyalgia. The study tested exercisers who participated in 34 water workouts. They did not change any of their other activities. By the end of the program, the number of tender points had not changed in both the control group or the intervention group. However, the intervention group saw considerable improvements in levels of pain, with a 29% reduction in pain. Follow up records indicated that this gain was lost after 12 weeks of no water exercises. Knee strengthening while participating in this scientific study was sizeable, with knee extensors showing a 20% improvement, and knee flexors achieving a 33% improvement. Translated this shows that individuals who are afflicted by Fibromyalgia can use warm water exercise to strengthen their knees and boost mobility and stability, all of which are elements of concern in Fibromyalgia patients.

This study clearly showed that water exercise could benefit Fibromyalgia patients. It brings about noteworthy benefits in strength of the knee extensors, which is a major predictor in mobility as it relates directly to your day to day life. It has long been established that low impact water exercises were beneficial to people recovering from injuries or surgeries. Depending on outcomes of this study it would appear that if you experience Fibromyalgia warm water exercise may be very helpful to you. The key is that the workout routines need to be ongoing as the benefits are lost over time.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment