Can water-based exercise interventions help injured workers get back to the workplace?
The reality of the workplace involves the occurrence of mishaps that cause injuries to workers. Even with the strict implementation of safety precautions and compliance with preventive measures, accidents can still happen. According to SafeWork Australia, statistics show that more than a million workers in the past decade have made serious workers’ compensation claims for injuries and illnesses incurred in their workplaces. The number just covers workers who filed claims for injuries that resulted in a week’s time of lost productivity.
In this regard, rehabilitation becomes crucial in helping workers regain their mobility and strength so they can get back to work. For injured workers with mobility and functional challenges that may keep them from land-based training, water-based exercise may be a more workable alternative to help in the rehabilitation and recovery process.
Training in a water environment provides benefits that working out in the gym does not offer. Primarily, buoyancy makes exercise low in impact and can significantly reduce the strain on your joints and muscles. If you’re an injured worker with musculoskeletal or orthopaedic issues, this is especially significant since this allows you to engage in an activity without unduly making your injuries worse.
Exercising in water also allows you to move through a greater range of motion and enhance flexibility due to hydrostatic pressure. Challenging exercises in the gym can be performed to enhance joint flexibility.
Another benefit of aquatic exercise is its ability to enhance your cardiovascular health, providing resistance that challenges your aerobic fitness and helps you tone your muscles and build up strength.
One type of water-based training is Hydrotherapy. This involves water as a primary modality complemented by other methods that include hot and cold packs, ultrasound waves, electrical stimulation, or massage.
If you’re a worker aiming to recover from an injury incurred in the workplace, it’s worth your while to explore the possibilities of aquatic-based training to rehabilitate and recover. Reach out to our expert Physiotherapists and Exercise Physiologists at Healthstin in Hurstville so they can explain how aquatic exercise and a customised program can benefit you in more detail.
Call 1300 090 931 or click this link to book a session or know more.