Aqua Therapy Exercises for Back Pain

by Ruth
(Syracuse, NY)

I have chronic joint pain, including pain in my spine and lower back, and have been working with my doctors for a long time to figure out treatments. I've tried many kinds of gym-based physical therapy, including stabilization exercise, core strengthening exercises, balance exercises but most of them did nothing, and at times aggravated my pain.

Then I decided to try aqua therapy exercises for back pain, most of which I can do in any pool, anywhere. I was amazed by how aquatherapy improved my joint and muscle pain - so much better than previous gym-based physical therapy!

Unlike gym exercises, aqua therapy doesn't aggravate my back at all. In fact, when I'm doing them, I don't feel like I'm doing much of anything. The water is so cushioning that it just feels like walking around.

Some of the most helpful exercises are also the simplest...

When I first get into the pool I walk around in the shallow end, where the water is to mid-torso. I walk frontwards, backwards, and sideways, for around 20 minutes.

While holding onto the side of the pool - still at the shallow end _ I do leg raises. I repeatedly lift one leg forward, then to the side and backwards, and then switch legs and do it again.

I move on to squats (holding myself underwater), and core strengthening exercises, by sitting on a flotation device - like a kick board or a fun noodle - held underwater for a couple minutes.

I also put on a buoyancy belt that keeps my head out of the water and go to the deep end of the pool, where I sort of "run" or "walk" without my feet on the bottom. I hold myself vertical and move just my legs and back. It feels weird to be upright in the pool like that, but it's a lot like walking around on land - except without the impact of hitting the ground.

The aqua therapy exercise I do takes about half an hour, and it loosens up the muscles in my back and strengthens the joints in a really helpful way. Sometimes I come out of the pool feeling tingly and achy from the work I've just done, but it usually stops aching within about half an hour, and then I feel less tense all day.