The health of your family is crucial, especially with the rise of various diseases and illnesses. One of the most common complaints among adults, adolescents, and children is chronic back pain. Chronic back pain is difficult to diagnose, and often hard to treat. Doctors use a mixture of treatments and medications, which sometimes are not enough to eliminate the pain.
It is a fact that 80% of Americans will suffer from chronic back pain at some point in their lives. This is a huge number, leaving only 20% that may not be affected at all. Some alternatives to treating back pain include injections, physical therapy, and medication. However, these traditional treatments are costly if they are needed on an ongoing basis.
A Stress-Free Form of Exercise
One free or cost-effective treatment can be relaxing, stress-free, and invigorating. It is a sport that many people enjoy, but it is also a form of therapy and treatment. Swimming provides an excellent source of physical activity. It is considered a low-impact aerobic conditioning exercise that is light on the back and the spine.
Children are naturally active and curious. They enjoy physical activities that challenge them and push their bodies to the limits. Swimming provides the type of exercise that stimulates the entire body. Swimming is the fifth-most popular activity in the world of sports and, as a hobby or pastime, it is often suggested by doctors for patients with chronic back conditions, arthritis, and joint pain.
Benefits of Swimming
Swimming helps to relieve the stiffness and soreness of joints, making them more flexible and less tense. Swimming relieves stress and allows the body to move freely without restraints. While swimming allows for a greater range of movement, it can also worsen back and spinal pain if caution is not taken or a swimming professional or coach is not present.
Parents of children with chronic back pain may want to hire an athletic trainer or health coach for their children. A professional trainer will ensure that the children are not using lower muscles unnecessarily, causing undue stress on the joints and particularly the lower part of the back. They will teach your children how to carefully maneuver each stroke to perfection. The structures in the back are delicate. The back contains discs that can easily rupture if too much shear force is applied.
It causes the discs and other delicate structures in the back to deteriorate, causing even more pain and discomfort. When swimming, children should wear a snorkel, so when they are coming up for air, they do not inadvertently arch their backs while lifting their heads to take a breath.
There is an art to swimming, and to get the best benefits, it must be done correctly. Children will need to learn how to keep their shoulders in synch with their hips while they are swimming. The consequences of not performing proper swimming techniques can create havoc in the lower back due to repetitively rotating it.
Strokes to Consider
Children should focus on light, spine-friendly strokes. The movements and positions can affect the spine in so many ways. For example, the butterfly and the breastbone stroke should not be attempted. These strokes add pressure to the lower spine in the back when stroking backward. These strokes add undue stress on the facet joints and the spinal column and tend to create more pain and additional problems over time.
Where Should You Start?
The best exercise to start to ease the pain is water therapy. Water therapy enhances calmness, peace, and tranquility. Be sure to check with your child's doctor or a physical therapist to ensure that water therapy is beneficial. The key to successfully gaining an advantage over chronic back pain, through swimming, is to start off slowly.
Gently increase your child's regime, and over time you can increase it more aggressively, without adding stress or additional pain. Your child will let you know when the exercise is too much or not enough. Sometimes a mixture of medication and/or swimming therapy might be a needed alternative.
