We all know someone who has had an episode of low back pain — and just as likely we have had one ourselves. Isolated incident or persistent problem, it has become an increasingly present condition. Globally it is one of the greatest contributors to lost productivity each year.
What causes low back pain?
Often there is no single cause. A combination of these puts you at greater risk:
- A prior history of back pain — a first episode often leads to recurrence in time
- Age
- Obesity
- A sedentary lifestyle
- Heavy or frequent lifting
- Long periods in loaded, flexed spinal positions — sitting, for instance
How can LiquidGym help?
Here we put some particular features of water to work against low back pain, whether it is a new acute episode or long-standing chronic pain.
The weightlessness of an aquatic environment reduces compression of the spine. That reduces pain and swelling, allows freer spinal movement, and helps limit compounding degenerative changes over time.
Water resistance increases the challenge of motion in every plane of movement at once, which helps prevent muscular imbalance and promotes greater core stability around the spine.
Using those two features together, we can improve the mobility, the stability and the resilience of your spine.
Is training in the water right for you?
Before you start, it is well worth discussing it with your family doctor or one of our therapists and kinesiologists, to determine whether aquatic therapy suits you. Safety comes first.
If any of the following apply, confirm with a medical professional before starting a new therapy programme:
- Pre-existing heart conditions
- Balance difficulties that make entering and leaving a pool safely a challenge
- Multiple sclerosis, because of the potential for overheating
- Unhealed wounds or active infections
Who can help?
A physiotherapist, kinesiologist or athletic therapist can guide you through the rehabilitation of your low back pain.
Wondering whether the water would help your back? Call LiquidGym at 613-820-8228.
References
- Brody, Lori Thein, and Paula Richley Geigle, editors. Aquatic Exercise for Rehabilitation and Training. Human Kinetics, 2009.
- Layne, Melissa. Water Exercise. Human Kinetics, 2015.
- Vos, Theo, et al. “Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 328 diseases and injuries for 195 countries, 1990–2016.” The Lancet, vol. 390, no. 10100, 2017, 1211–1259.