All You Need To Know About Hydro Running Treatment

What is hydro-running? Is it better than regular running?

Running on an extremely hard surface like the road is not for everyone. This is because running on the road can cause a lot of injuries and it impacts the knees in the long run.

Running has become very easy nowadays, but it also causes a lot of injuries like spin splints, bad knees, back pain, hip pain and more.

Whereas if you are running in water i.e hydro-running, there is very less impact on the body and chances of injury are very less. It has a lot of benefits. The best part is that running under water will not be less of a workout for you, as it can easily be a substitute for normal running.

If you’re a passionate runner or an athlete and you have an injury all you want to is get better and resume your running. This is where underwater running/ hydro-running comes into the picture.

[pullquote]Water is an amazing medium to run in. It decreases the load and stress on one’s joints and muscles. [/pullquote]

Its viscosity provides a medium for resistance for strength training and the hydrostatic pressure supports the body so that it is not an unsafe environment to run in.

Hydro-running is a low impact activity for people of all ages. It has quite a therapeutic environment with a feeling of being in an endless pool. It helps us by improving our cardiac function, it lowers our blood pressure, it enhances tissue repair and healing and it also increases blood flow to the affected and impacted joints and muscles.

This underwater treadmill with a swim current is the perfect and safest environment for rehabilitation and injury treatment.

Usually, hydro-running treatment is done for the following medical conditions:

Any sort of joint pain in the body
As a sports injury rehabilitation program
Spinal cord injuries
Spinal pain
Arthritis
Post-surgical operation rehabilitation

How it works is that there is a treadmill that’s been placed inside a pool which is generally about 6 feet deep. There is a jet that forces out water at your desired intensity in front of the pool. This is completely controllable based on your comfort and you can choose your desired resistance.

Cameras are provided too so that your physiotherapist can analyze and view your body mechanics.

There are two types of these treadmills. One version is a stand-alone one, like how shown in the link below.

Benefits of hydro-running:

-Promotes an early range of motion with people who have problems with their muscles and joints.
-It takes place in a low impact environment which doesn’t harm our joints.
-It mimics the running that is done on the road/ on land too.
-It improves our stamina
-It improves our flexibility
-It strengthens our body and muscles
-It helps in recovering and healing of injured tissues
-It improves the range of one’s ability to perform a wide range of plyometrics
-It reduces blood pressure levels
-It reduces joint stiffness and gives a relaxing feeling