Water Exercise Natural Pain Relief for Fibromyalgia

The other day, I talked about how maintaining good sleep hygiene may reduce one’s fibromyalgia pain.  You may also experience relief from fibromyalgia pain through water exercises, which is especially nice when it’s very hot outside like it has been lately here in the Western part of the United States!  Water exercise is an excellent way to get exercise and may have the added benefit of natural pain relief.  Please read on for more details. 

Water Exercise for Pain Relief

Water exercise is a form of exercise that involves a different kind of resistance than other exercise methods.  When one exercises in the water, your entire arm or leg gets resistance whereas if you exercise with a weight machine, you are generally working one joint or muscle group at a time. 

Water exercise is particularly good for individuals with chronic pain, such as those who suffer with arthritis and fibromyalgia because it doesn’t hurt the muscles and joints the way other, more traditional exercise, such as weight lifiting, treadmills, exercise bicycles, and other traditional exercise machines can. 

I have participated in water exercise as part of my treatment plan for my chronic pain, and I really enjoyed the classes.  If you have chronic pain and wish to participate in water exercise, I suggest you join the arthritis water exercise class rather than the aerobic water exercise class.  The arthritis class is specifically tailored to those who suffer with chronic pain, and is designed to not overexert your muscles and joints in the water.

Not only do the water exercises not hurt your muscles and joints while you are doing them, you also get the opportunity to meet new people while you are in the class.  I met several nice women in the arthritis class I was in.  They even made the class more enjoyable by signing while we exercised. 

Water Exercise Tips

I want to provide you with a few tips regarding water exercise.  First, while it does not hurt your muscles and joints to participate in the arthritis water exercise class, do not do too much because you may hurt later.  If you have not been exercising on a regular basis, for example, it is generally a good idea to start with five repetitions of each exercise (there are generally ten repititions of each exercise in the class).  Stick with five repititionsof each exercise for a few weeks, then move up to six repititions and so on. 

Second, you will need a doctor’s note to participate in the arthritis water exercise class at most clubs, such as the YMCA, so be sure to have your doctor write you a note and have it handy before you plan to join the class. 

Finally, you can find arthritis water exercise classes at many clubs, such as the YMCA and other exercise clubs with a pool.  Call local clubs in your area to find out which ones have water exercise classes at the times that work for you.  You may have to pay a fee to join the club in order to participate in the class, so be sure to ask about the club’s fees as well. 

Water exercise is a great way to both reduce your pain and to meet new people.  If you have participated in water exercise as part of a treatment program for your chronic pain or if you try it out in the future, I’d love for you to leave a comment and tell me how the experience was for you.

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