Recovering from an injury sustained in a car accident, bicycle accident, or slip and fall can be a long, uphill battle. Not only will you have to deal with the legal process of filing a personal injury claim, but you will also likely have to seek medical assistance in order to make a full recovery. While a knowledgeable Van Nuys personal injury lawyer can help you with the legality of the situation, swimming can help you with the physical implications and injuries. Here we will explore how swimming can help speed up and ease your rehabilitation process.
Low-Impact Exercise
One of the greatest benefits of swimming for recovery is that it is a very low-impact exercise. Unlike other rehabilitation exercises such as running or weight liftings, swimming minimizes the stress on your joints, ligaments, and tendons, making it an ideal avenue to pursue if you have suffered an injury in an accident. By reducing the strain on your muscles and joints during the rehabilitation process, you are much likely to recover faster and with far less pain.
Muscle Strengthening
Another great benefit of swimming for rehabilitation is that it is truly a full body workout. Whether you feel it or not, swimming targets essentially every muscle group, including your core, legs, back, shoulders, and arms. When you engage your muscles while swimming, you are helping to strengthen and grow your muscles, as well as working to prevent muscle atrophy. All of which are beneficial to your injury recovery process.
Conditioning
An additional benefit of swimming is that it is a great form of cardiovascular conditioning, as it helps to improve your heart health and lung capacity. Swimming is a great way to improve your overall fitness levels in a very safe and controlled setting. Your endurance levels are likely to also increase as a result of swimming, which is very important after periods of low activity following your injury.
Pain Management
Swimming is also a great way to help manage and reduce the pain caused by your injury. This pain reduction is caused in part by the hydrostatic qualities of water. When you are swimming, the water exerts hydrostatic pressure on your body, which helps to reduce swelling and inflammation – two main factors that contribute to the pain that you are experiencing.
Buoyancy of Water
Another benefit that swimming has for rehabilitation is related to the natural properties of water. The buoyancy of water while swimming helps to create natural support as it keeps you afloat and reduces the impact of gravity. The slight resistance caused by the buoyancy of the water also helps to strengthen your muscles at a very low impact level.
Range of Motion
One last benefit that swimming has on injury recovery is improved range of motion. As mentioned, swimming requires the engagement of all your muscles which is needed to improve your flexibility and mobility. When you are swimming, the fluidity of the water helps break down scar tissue which directly impacts your range of motion. It is also common for individuals to experiment with their flexibility levels and range of motion underwater, as it feels much safer and less harsh on your joints, ligaments, and muscles.
Conclusion
In the unfortunate event you are injured in an accident, keep in mind the numerous benefits swimming can have on your body for rehabilitation. Not only does swimming strengthen your muscles, reduce pain, and increase flexibility, but it is a more engaging and fun way to recover from an injury.
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