Water therapy. What is therapeutic swimming?

When a spinal deformity occurs, doctors often recommend that the patient take up swimming. The pool is especially useful for scoliosis stages 1, 2 and 3. It is forbidden to train only if there is instability between the segments of the spine, when the angle of curvature is more than 10-15o on an x-ray during diagnostics in a lying position. Let's consider whether swimming helps with this pathology, and what exercises should be performed in this case.

Basic Rules

The duration of your visit to the pool must be regulated. You need to train at least three times a week. The water should be within – +28-32o.

If stage 2 scoliotic curvature is diagnosed, it is recommended to use a foam board and fins during exercise.

Swimming for scoliotic deformity of the spinal column is an effective technique. In this case, it is important to decide on your own style and not interrupt your studies. The main requirement for starting therapeutic swimming is the absence of contraindications.

When should you not swim?

• During menstruation (tampons will not protect you from possible infection).
• If you have open wounds.
• If you are sick or already sick with infectious diseases.
• During periods of exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and other ENT diseases.
• For skin diseases.
• For some types of allergies.
• For some eye diseases.
• Patients with arrhythmia, angina pectoris and other heart diseases should only swim after consulting a doctor.

Things to consider

The exercises are selected by an experienced instructor personally for each person, and they must be performed under his supervision. When choosing the initial posture and exercises, you should take into account the stage of the disease and the direction of the curvature. An important role is played by the patient’s level of physical fitness, as well as existing concomitant diseases. They should not act as restrictions on training.

You should breathe correctly while swimming. This helps prevent the formation of problems such as respiratory or cardiovascular failure. During dosed training, you should regularly hold back your inhalation and exhalation, this makes it possible to train the intercostal muscles.

It is necessary to completely exclude exercises that increase the mobility of spinal segments. It is prohibited to perform circular movements, use equipment and exercises in water that promote inert traction. You need to move your limbs in parallel with breathing. An important requirement is constant training of the time of sliding and self-extension of the spine.

But what is the connection between swimming and postural problems?

Posturologists around the world recommend swimming to those who suffer from postural problems. In their opinion, swimming will help gently lengthen the spine. Nowadays, swimming is recommended less and less, but there is still a belief in society that it is beneficial for those with scoliosis.

But this is a false belief: swimming has a negative effect on your posture!

Swimming does not help lengthen the spine; on the contrary, it increases postural problems as dominant muscles become stronger at the expense of weaker ones, further exacerbating postural imbalances.

Not to mention, swimming accentuates your dorsal curve. People with severe postural problems such as hyperlordosis and scoliosis may find this sport quite challenging to engage in.

Drawing up a personal program

A personal program must be drawn up, taking into account the characteristics of the body, the level of training of the patient and the stage of the pathology.

If swimming is prescribed as therapy for scoliosis of degrees 1 and 2 , breaststroke on the stomach is suitable. To train your legs, you can use the front crawl style. It is advisable to visit the pool even with degrees 3 and 4 scoliotic curvature of the spine. Although in the latter case it helps more not to correct posture, but to strengthen the cardiovascular system.

Also, for stage 4 scoliosis, it is recommended to train with breaststroke style on the chest and perform breathing gymnastic training. You need to swim at speed, but the distance should be short. Moreover, when this training is carried out, the entire process must be supervised by the instructor.

It is important that each exercise is performed correctly. It should be noted that breaststroke includes the following stages:

1. Worker. It involves performing a stroke with the arms and pushing with the legs.
2. Slips. At the moment the person is not moving. He should train to ensure that this phase lasts as long as possible. At this moment, the spinal column is stretched and straightened.

For example, at a distance of 25 meters, sliding is performed 8-10 times. With such training, a muscle corset develops, thanks to which the spinal column is maintained in proper shape.

At first, the load must be distributed correctly. Excessive overload is prohibited; increasing the distance and number of swims should occur gradually. Children must swim under the supervision of a coach.

Diagnosis at the mirror

Take a look at how your child holds his back, how he sits at the table, whether his posture is sluggish or strong, whether his right and left shoulders are at the same level. Look at him from the back when he is standing: are the right and left “triangles” (the spaces between the arms lowered along the sides and the sides themselves) the same? Ask your child to slowly bend forward with his arms down and look behind him to see if one of his shoulder blades is sticking out. If in doubt, look at the child in the mirror - the deformation will immediately become noticeable.

Did something bother you? Hurry to the orthopedist. You need to be especially attentive to your child’s posture when he has made a sharp leap in growth. X-rays will provide the most complete information about the disease.

Exercises in the pool for scoliosis 1 and 2 degrees

For scoliotic spinal deformity, the following trainings can be performed:

1. Lie on your back and alternately move your arms. The initial pose is to stretch your arms along the body. With this pathology, you need to swim up to 200 m.
2. The crawl can quickly cover a long distance. To do this, you need to lie on your chest, make strokes parallel to the axis of the body. The legs move up and down. The head must be in the water so that you can breathe; turns are performed regularly in one direction or the other. To relieve the load on the spinal column, you need to swim 200 m.
3. Butterfly requires a lot of effort, which is why not many people prefer this style. We lie down on our chest and perform symmetrical strokes with our arms and push-offs with our legs. To properly train the musculoskeletal system, heart and blood vessels, you need to swim 200 meters.

If swimming is so bad, why do thousands of therapists still recommend it?

On a cultural level, it has always been believed that swimming is the most necessary sport for those suffering from scoliosis.

According to our internal statistics (these are statistics we share with our clients every year), one in three people have been recommended to swim at least twice a week to improve their scoliosis.

Swimming is recommended due to the lack of gravity. But Starecta, in his book, which can be obtained for free (https://www.starecta.com/book/), explained that it is not gravity that causes scoliosis, but anti-gravity forces.

Paradoxically, it is the anti-gravity muscles that cause the skull to droop when it is not sufficiently supported by the teeth. So gravity certainly has no effect on the causes of postural problems.

Thus, the "obvious solution" of floating in zero gravity is quite dubious, since it does not take into account the real problem of scoliosis.

Even a very old Italian institute of science presented a study to the International Lumbar Spine Society that focused on the relationship between swimming and scoliosis.

The study strongly refutes the idea that swimming is a cure for back scoliosis problems, and indeed, provides evidence that shows how the sport can also worsen spinal curves or even cause back pain.

The study compared 112 competitive swimmers who trained 4-5 times a week with 217 similarly aged students who did not participate in the sport or did so at a recreational level.

From the data collected, it was concluded that swimming not only will not cure scoliosis, but in some cases, it can worsen the situation or even cause back pain!

Even if practiced only once or twice a week, swimmers often develop various asymmetries with a general emphasis on the curve.

Training for grades 3 and 4

At this stage of scoliosis, all training should be performed under the supervision of a trainer. Incorrectly performed movements can lead to complications.

Recommended exercises for stages 3 and 4 of the disease:

1. We lie on our backs and move our arms at the same time. You need to swim 100 meters in this style.
2. For a deformed spine, the breaststroke swimming technique is recommended. We lie on our back, move our arms and legs symmetrically. In this style you need to swim up to 300 m.

Treatment of scoliosis in the Solnechny sanatorium

Treatment of scoliosis in the early stages can be carried out on the territory of the Solnechny sanatorium. Our sanatorium has been treating scoliosis in Belarus since Soviet times, during which time it has managed to gain a positive reputation among numerous visitors.

The main advantages of treatment in our sanatorium include:

• Modern methods of conservative treatment of right-sided and left-sided scoliosis in the early stages;
• Professional massage to relieve pain;
• Comfortable rooms for relaxation between procedures and treatment;
• Consultation with a doctor, drawing up an individual treatment plan depending on the current condition of the patient.

You can always find out the prices for rooms and treatment, book a place, and read reviews from visitors on our website. To receive professional advice on any questions you may have regarding treatment at the sanatorium, you can contact our consultants by phone numbers listed on the website.

Swimming for scoliosis in children

Therapeutic swimming helps to normalize the condition of the spine and back. When the child does not have physiological curves, procedures can be performed while lying on the chest. If there are increased bends, it is better to lie on your back.

Swimming with scoliosis of varying degrees in children requires compliance with certain requirements:

• the initial posture can be changed, due to the characteristics of the spinal deformity. For example, if changes in the shape of the spine in the thoracic region are detected in a school-age child, it is recommended to adopt an asymmetrical position. If there are problems in the shoulder girdle, during training you need to put your upper limb forward; the initial pose for performing training is standing, raising your arm up;
• with a C-shaped deformity, the leg, which is on the depressed side of the back, is pulled back.

Can Starecta Rectifier help?

If you are passionate about swimming and really don't want to give up this sport, the only way to continue swimming without problems is to use the Rectifier Starecta.

The Rectifier is placed between the teeth and the skull, and thus prevents the skull from sinking and worsening scoliosis. In addition, the Rectifier pushes the skull upward, returning it to its correct position.

In this way, the spine is stretched and muscle tension in the back is eliminated or at least reduced.

By reducing or eliminating back muscle tension, you can finally exercise without interruption every three months due to acute pain. You can swim without pain or even go to the gym if you want.

Safety precautions

Swimming is allowed both in the pool and in open water. It is worth noting that swimming in open water should be in a controlled area with buoys (without strong currents and with a explored bottom). When swimming with scoliosis, it is important to breathe properly. This will increase the effectiveness of your classes.

When swimming in the pool, there must be an instructor and life-saving equipment nearby. You can’t swim on an empty stomach; you need to eat at least 1-2 hours before training. If the water temperature in the pool is lower than the ambient temperature, a person should do a short warm-up. It is necessary to warm up the body (bending the body, turning the head, squats). It is very important to avoid hypothermia and not to spend too much time in the water.

Performing gymnastics in water

In order to increase the effectiveness of swimming in the pool with scoliosis, it is recommended to perform special exercises (gymnastics). Their action is aimed at training the respiratory system and strengthening various muscle groups. Any exercises must be discussed with a specialist. Let's look at the technique of the most common exercises:

1. starting position: standing with your back to the wall of the pool. In this position, take a deep breath, hold your breath, then lower yourself down so that your entire body with your head is completely under water. Then they exhale slowly (for 10-20 seconds) and emerge outside. After a 15 second rest, the exercise is performed at least 8 times.
2. Starting position: standing with a straight back, hands on the side of the pool. In this position, take a deep breath and submerge completely under water (holding your breath). Exhale under water, then return to the starting position. This exercise must be repeated at least 10-15 times.
3. Starting position: lying on the water on your stomach, holding the side of the pool. From this position they begin to swing their legs (down and up). The amplitude should be low. The next step is to take a deep breath, dive under the water and exhale. It is recommended to perform such gymnastics for 1-3 minutes.

If it is not possible to visit the pool, but there is shallow water (lake) nearby, you can carry out recreational activities there. They look like this:

1. starting position: feet shoulder-width apart (water level chest-deep). From this position, bend forward, take a deep breath and lower your head into the water. After this, carry out arm movements in the breaststroke style (for 1-2 minutes).
2. Starting position: similar. From this position they begin to slide, extending their upper limbs forward. The lower limbs push off, like in the crawl style.

Frequency of visiting the pool

Limiting yourself to a few swimming lessons to treat scoliosis will not work. In order to stop the progression of the disease and achieve maximum straightening of the spinal ridge, training is required over a long period of time. The exact swimming time is determined by the attending physician; most often, therapy takes at least 3-5 months.

The duration of water therapy directly depends on the stage of scoliosis. To treat a disease at stage 1 or 2, on average, 5-6 months of training is enough. It is advisable to avoid breaks, this will increase the effectiveness of treatment. To treat stage 3 scoliosis, visiting the pool will require much longer, up to several years.

To achieve recovery, skipping classes is prohibited.

If the disease is at stage 4, unfortunately, swimming will not be able to get rid of the curvature of the spine, but doctors still prescribe it. In this situation, such therapy is aimed at improving the general condition of the patient. You must visit the pool regularly, the duration is not limited.