Body Connections
Water workouts enhance balance and fitness
by Leslee Jaquette
No matter what you call it, water aerobics, water exercise or aquacise, water workouts are especially beneficial to individuals over the age of 50 seeking to enhance balance and reduce the fear of falling. A scheduled speaker at the Quarry Living Center, fall prevention expert and former U.S. Olympic diving coach, Betty Perkins-Carpenter, Ph.D., of Rochester, NY, notes that water workouts are the perfect exercise for many seniors.
“Water exercise works because you are mostly weightless and it is safe,” observes 78-year-old Perkins-Carpenter. “Most people find they can practice balancing training and other fitness exercise safely and comfortably in the pool.”
Clark County is home to a number of facilities that offer water workouts for seniors, including the Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation Marshall Community Center Pool and the LaCamas Swim and Sport Aquatics Center. Here, Marshall Community Center Pool Coordinator Ray Osman and LaCamas Aquatics Director Teresa McLaren explain why water fitness is recommended for seniors as well as describe the classes available at each facility.
What’s the problem?
Research shows that 30 percent of people over the age of 65 fall each year, with nearly 15,000 resulting in deaths and 1.8 million requiring emergency room care. A quarter of a million of these people, half of whom are over 80, sustain hip fractures each year, and three quarters of them are women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Experts such as Perkins-Carpenter believe balance and strength exercise can help prevent and/or rehabilitate injuries due to falls caused by slipping or tripping. Women over the age of 65, who have never engaged in vigorous exercise, are especially at high risk and benefit from learning balance skills and confidence of movement.
Why water workouts help prevent falling
Both Osman and McLaren underscore the ability of water exercise to increase strength, mobility and flexibility. Every day they see success stories, where individuals ages 60 to 80 are increasing their range of motion and balance and decreasing arthritis pain while making new friends and having fun.
“Water exercise adds a fourth dimension,” observes Osman. “It feels good to get in the water and open the pores, take the stress off the joints, activate the blood flow and get a good stretch or cardio workout. It’s invigorating!”
McLaren explains that the second seniors step into the water they enjoy the physiological benefits of hydro pressure, which increases the flow of blood through the body. As a result, just being in the water is good for you. Given that water is 12 times more resistant than air, even the mildest movement creates work.
Unlike land-based exercises, which target one muscle group at a time, water workouts utilize opposite muscles with every movement. Seniors also benefit from buoyancy. “When the water is at armpit level, it takes off about 65 percent of body weight,” says McLaren. “By taking the weight off, water cushions the impact.”
return to previous page
|
