Exercise is great for your overall health but some types are better than others when it comes to protecting and strengthening your joints. High-impact activities such as running can put stress on your joints, so for many people, low-impact swimming is a better choice. If you suffer from joint pain or arthritis, swimming can help strengthen your joints and relieve your pain.
Why is swimming good for joints?
Most people experience pain in their knee or other joints at some point in their life. When this happens, you might not feel like exercising. But whether you have arthritis in the knee, have sore knees from running, or you just have aching knees, swimming is one of the best exercises to help knee pain.
When you swim, your body is buoyed by the water. With the water supporting your body weight, you can exercise without adding stress to your body. This lack of stress on your knees and other joints can help relieve pain. The water also provides gentle resistance so as you move your legs against it, you’re working your muscles and building up strength.
Keep moving to reduce pain and stiffness
When you have painful joints you might not feel like moving around much, but it’s important to keep moving to maintain fitness and mobility. If you go swimming regularly you can get the exercise you need without stressing your joints.
Swimming for arthritis
If you have arthritis, swimming is a great way to exercise; with the water supporting your weight you’ll find you can move much more easily. The movements that you perform when swimming are great for building strength in your knees. Swimming will also get your blood flowing more which will help stiff muscles.
Why swimming is good for everyone
Swimming has a host of health benefits. As well as improving your knee health, it’s a great cardiovascular exercise, meaning it can help keep your heart in good health, as well as help you burn calories and lose weight. Carrying extra weight can put a huge amount of stress on your knees and joints.
Regular swimming is also an excellent full body workout. It can make you more flexible, strengthen your core and improve your stamina and endurance.
Get advice before you start
If you have health problems or are pregnant, it is a good idea to talk to your GP before you start a new exercise regime. If you’re not used to exercising you will need to start slowly and build up gradually.
