Swimming is a great all-around workout as well as fun for many people. It is a low-impact exercise that’s an excellent option for many individuals, particularly those whose body does not do well with sports or exercise of higher impact. Chiropractic care can be helpful for many swimmers.
Before
The exercise you do directly before swimming can help your performance and reduce the risk of getting an injury. Stretching before swimming is a wise idea. Pay special attention to your hip flexors – the major muscles that are responsible for the bending movement of your spine, hips and leg.
These muscles contribute to your kicking whether it is dolphin, breaststroke or straight freestyle kick. The gluteal muscles (a group of 3 muscles that make up your buttocks) are important to stretch as well. These also help in your kicking. Your shoulder and upper body stretches are essential as shoulder injuries are a common issue with avid swimmers.
Warming up is also helpful for preventing injury and getting the best performance while you are in the water. You can spend 5 minutes swimming laps at a significantly reduced pace, doing lighter work. Then you can swim 1-2 laps with more intensity, finally getting into your normal workout pace. A warm-up exercise gives your body and muscles time to adjust to the heightened workload to perform properly.
During
While you are swimming, you should be mindful of your stroke path and body alignment. Move through full ROM (ranges of motion) and ensure that you are focusing on the correct strokes and kicks. It is easy in workouts, especially when you are getting tired, to make disjointed movements and put your body at much higher risk for injury.
If you are feeling pain and it persists, you should give yourself a rest, then try again to find out if it is still present: if it isn’t, carry on. If it’s persisting, switch to another less strenuous stroke and continue. Keep in mind that some movement is always better than no movement. However you should try to be safe while you are trying to achieve optimum health.
After
Typically, wrapping up your swimming exercise is just like beginning it; you should stretch the very muscles you did before starting because they have been worked out vigorously. Take several cooling off laps or you can take a warm-down lap to allow your body to adjust to a reduction in the demands you are placing on it.
Sudden starts and stops do not serve your body well when exercising. That acclimation time also lets the physiological processes of your body to slow down in accordance.
Regular Chiropractic Care
Regular chiropractic adjustment can support your optimal nervous system functioning. Your nervous system is an important part responsible for all the functions in your body. This includes all the messages to the muscles and joints responsible for movement when you are swimming and breathing as well as the heart rate that usually increases as you work out.
Regular chiropractic adjustments can support the proper joint ROM for your spine and the muscles that are attached to it, which are all used when you are swimming. The Chiropractors at Bradford House Chiropractic Clinic can manipulate extremity joints like ankles, knees, hips, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. These joints are all used during a swim workout as well as full ROM of these joints, and they support injury prevention plus improved performance.
If you happen to get a minor injury while swimming or from your stroke repetitive motions, visit Bradford House Chiropractic Clinic. Chiropractic adjustments can increase the ability of your body to heal faster and with greater efficiency.
