Organizations such as the American Heart Association recommend that all adults in the United States take part in exercise at least 30 minutes a day five days a week. However, many exercises depend on your knees for support, which can make exercising difficult if you have knee problems that cause pain or soreness in the knee joint. Taking your exercise to the pool can help you exercise with less pain, as well as reduce the pain in your knee as you strengthen the surrounding tissues.
Effects of Knee Pain on Exercise
Most exercises, especially aerobic exercises, depend on your knee joint for both mobility and proper form. Unfortunately many of these exercises also place stress on your knee joint. For example, when jogging, each time your feet impact the ground, your knee joint -- and surrounding muscles, tendons and ligaments -- are jolted. This can result in pain or soreness for those with knee problems. To exercise with less knee pain, the impact needs to be limited or removed, which is where swimming can be beneficial.
Water Buoyancy
Swimming helps with knee pain through the effects of water's buoyancy. Buoyancy is a property of water that allows things to float. When you are in the water, a portion of your weight is supported through floating. In fact, when exercising in water up to your waist, the water can support up to 50 percent of your body weight. When in water up to your neck, the water carries 90 percent of your weight, suggests Dr. Andrew J. Cole of the University of Washington.
Water Resistance
Water reduces the impact on your knee joint, but it still provides aerobic and, to a lesser extent, strength-building exercise. Exercise is produced through the resistance of water. No matter which way you move your body when submerged in water, your muscles experience resistance. This resistance increases the amount of energy being used by your body, which activates the production of new energy by burning calories. The intensity of exercise can be increased or decreased by the types of strokes you use or how quickly you swim through the water, allowing a customizable workout to your individual fitness abilities and goals.
How it Helps
Not only can swimming allow you to exercise with knee pain, but it also can help treat knee problems. Swimming exercise can strengthen your knee joint by strengthening the muscle tissue around the knee. This provides more support to the knee joint, which may help improve its health without aggravating the symptoms. Swimming also burns calories, which can help with weight loss. This can reduce the amount of weight being placed on the knees, reducing pressure. This can be especially beneficial for those whose knee pain is associated with more extreme weight problems such as obesity.
