Although even today there are some factors that condition the participation of the geriatric population in aquatic therapy programs. This technique is increasingly recommended by health professionals, since water, for its physical properties and to reduce muscle discomfort. Want to know how this helps? We tell you.
This is how aquatic therapy helps the geriatric population
The elderly usually find, in the vast majority of cases, difficulties to perform exercises on land due to a multitude of symptoms such as joint pain, decreased range of motion and muscle strength, balance and gait disturbances, among others, due to the presence of diseases that appear as the individual ages.
Flotation facilitates movement, postural reactions and acts as a support, generating greater confidence in people not to fall, since there is no risk of falls.
Likewise, body weight decreases depending on the depth to which we submerge and our joints, especially those of the lower extremities and the spine, which will suffer a lower load. The movements we make in the water are much slower, due to the viscosity and resistance of the water to movement, which means that we react more time to destabilization and can train more effective balance strategies, in addition to globally toning the musculature.
Fall prevention is one of its main benefits
In the health field, one of the most discussed topics is falls in the geriatric population, not only because of its negative physical or psychological consequences on the person who suffers it, but also because of the economic consequences and the consequences at the socio-family level. .
The beneficial effects on gait and balance or functionality, or the psychological benefits make aquatic therapy play an important role in fall prevention programs.
Aquatic therapy offers a wide range of intervention possibilities, such as the obstacle circuit, the therapeutic application of ai-chi or programs that include different levels of difficulty in balance exercises.