Benefits of an Underwater Treadmill
Running and walking on an underwater treadmill provides the same workouts as regular land-based treadmills but without the impact. The water reduces body weight, easing stress on joints and bones.
It’s an excellent therapy option for injured pets, age-related osteoarthritis and overweight dogs. The warm-water environment is comfortable, encouraging and inspiring.
It Helps Relieve Pain
If you suffer from an injury or illness that keeps you from engaging in full-weight-bearing exercise, an underwater treadmill can help. The water provides buoyancy and takes pressure off of joints, so you can walk and run without feeling pain or stress on the body. The water can also provide a workout that’s 3 to 5 times harder than on land, so even walking at a slow pace you’ll get a good cardiovascular workout.
The extra resistance of the water helps improve a patient’s cardiovascular endurance. In addition, walking or running on an underwater treadmill increases flexibility. This is because underwater treadmill the sensory effects of the warm water relax the joints and muscles, so they can move more freely.
A water treadmill is especially helpful for older dogs that experience joint and muscle problems. Many of these dogs refuse to use the limb that’s been injured on land, but they often are willing to do so in the water. This reconditioning can prevent the formation of excessive scar tissue, which may lead to restricted movement in the future.
A recent study showed that eight weeks of UTT improved leg strength, balance and gait training in adults with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). So whether you are suffering from an injury or simply need to recondition your bones and muscles, an underwater treadmill can help.
It Helps Rehabilitate
Walking and exercising in water is a great way to get in a workout without impact on joints. Buoyancy in a treadmill pool decreases body weight and reduces the concussive forces of walking or running on land which helps rehabilitate injury-prone muscles and bones. Additionally, the resistance of water allows the therapist to work harder than they would in air during exercise sessions.
This type of water therapy (hydrotherapy) is also being used to condition healthy pets. It is becoming an increasingly popular treatment option under the guidance of physical therapists because it provides both pain relief and an effective way to strengthen joints and muscles.
One of the biggest challenges with a joint injury is getting back to your normal daily activities. This can be especially discouraging for athletes who are sidelined by an injury. Using an underwater treadmill to get in a workout while rehabbing can help them regain confidence and strength as they get closer to their normal activity level.
The adjustable speed and resistance settings on an underwater treadmill make it a powerful rehabilitation tool. Injured athletes and even geriatric patients that are experiencing joint pain benefit from the low-impact environment of an aquatic treadmill. This allows for better range of motion and improved movement patterns that may not be possible on a regular treadmill. For example, in small dogs who have undergone femoral head ostectomy for cruciate disease, we often use an underwater treadmill to promote healthy pseudo-joint formation and improve stifle flexion and hip flexion.
It Helps Strengthen
Walking and running on an underwater treadmill is a great way to build strength without the pounding impact of weight bearing exercise. The water’s resistance increases the harder you work, giving you a full lower body workout, core conditioning and cardio training all at once.
Athletes, including professional distance runners, are gravitating toward treadmill pools for cardiovascular and underwater treadmill strength training. They enjoy the setting of a land-based environment while reducing the stress on joints and providing resistance.
The treadmill’s accelerated speed is similar to that of walking or running on land, while the heightened resistance provides better cardiovascular endurance and pumps up physical stamina. In one study of 71 arthritic patients, walking and running in the warm-water aquatic treadmill was found to improve overall mobility and reduce joint stiffness.
Injured runners often find they are able to maintain fitness goals by combining an underwater treadmill with specific stretching, ROM, balance and strengthening exercises prescribed by a Physical Therapist. This can help prevent the onset of a more serious injury.
If your pet has a fear of the underwater treadmill, or isn’t quite comfortable with having their legs held out in front of them for exercise, our expert therapeutic handling will make this easy to overcome. For overweight dogs, the treadmill can also be a fantastic way to lose weight and keep their joints healthy.
It Helps Manage Weight
The buoyancy of the water reduces joint stress and allows for increased muscle strength. Patients who need to lose weight can work out on an underwater treadmill and still burn calories without the risk of injury. Athletes who need to keep up high-intensity workouts can also use an underwater treadmill to maintain their strength, even after an injury.
Running on an underwater treadmill helps you build leg, hip and foot strength, and it can help you improve your posture. It also increases core strength in the upper body, because you have to hold your arms out to balance yourself as you run. This type of training also strengthens your ankles, knees and feet to help prevent injuries.
An underwater treadmill can help you retrain your gait pattern after a serious knee or hip injury. It provides an exaggerated gait pattern that increases your knee flexion (bending) and to a lesser extent, your leg extension. The aquatic treadmill also simulates a natural swimming action that increases your front leg flexion but not as much as swimming does.
Many people who experience lower-body injuries, such as hip and knee surgery or osteoarthritis, have difficulty exercising on land because of pain. But a physical therapist trained in using an underwater treadmill can provide a safe exercise environment and use a variety of exercises to improve your mobility and strength after a surgery or injury.