Physical exercises can be performed in various environments. For example, you can exercise in water and enjoy all the benefits that aquatic therapy offers. Some of the benefits of doing physical therapy in water are connected to its unique physical properties such as:

Buoyancy

Buoyancy is advantageous because it reduces the gravitational effect on your body. This is why you feel lighter in water as compared to land. Due to the buoyancy, less weight will be bearing down on your body, so you can start physical therapy early in your recovery. This is why aqua physical therapy is good for post-surgical healing when the body is too weak to bear much weight.

Increased Resistance

Moving in water is harder than moving on dry land. The increased difficulty is because the viscosity of water provides greater resistance to movement than that provided by air. Thus, the water acts like a weight training machine that cannot injure you, for example, by bruising your hands or falling on your legs. This weight-resistance is felt on all parts of the body. What is more, you can adjust the resistance by changing your movement.  This is an effective and safe way to tone and strengthen your muscles.

Hydrostatic Pressure

When you are in the water, its hydrostatic pressure pushes on you from all directions. This helps to speed up the rate of venous return (flow of blood to the heart). The more effective venous return is, the more your overall blood circulation improves because fresh blood has to be pumped throughout your body. What is more, you get to enjoy this improved circulation without your heart having to work extra hard for it. The effect is even greater if you are exercising in warm water.

Low Impact

Lastly, you will also benefit from physical therapy in water due to its low-impact nature. As you know, physical exercise on land has its benefits, but it can also lead to muscle soreness and tearing. Water exercises are low impact, for example, you can't stamp your foot hard in water as you would on dry land using the same force. As such, you aren't likely to get injured while exercising in the water.

In which other ways do you think you can benefit from exercising in water? As you can see, you stand to gain a lot by exercising in water. The combined effect of all these benefits is that you may recover fast. If your therapist has suggested it, then you should jump at the opportunity. Don't forget that all forms of physical therapy have to be sanctioned by a health care professional.

For more information, contact United Therapy Centers or a similar organization.