General Exercises
The General exercises are a selection from those for particular symptoms. So you could, if you wish, take your own selection from them. Particularly if you have not exercised much recently, it is wise to start gently to gradually warm up your muscles and joints to make them more flexible. Scroll downwards for the next video.
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To read about joints in general click here on general
1 Warm up and shoulder control
Stand with your knees either slightly bent or sufficiently bent to bring your shoulders just under the water. Push the alternate floats forward and downward as far as you comfortably can. You can exercise your shoulders if you push and pull with straight arms. Feel it pull gently on your shoulder blades. Scroll downwards for the next video.
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2 Use floats to balance
Stand with your feet the width of your hips apart and your knees either slightly bent or sufficiently bent to bring your shoulders just under the water. Move the floats from side to side twisting your body as far as it will comfortably go. You may occasionally feel the vertebrae in your spine move a little relative to the ones above and below. That tells you they are not completely ossified together as may happen a bit in old age. Being flexible is a good thing.
If you want to increase your strength, you can turn the floats vertically. Then when you sweep them from side to side you will need the strength to move a wave of water in both directions.
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3 Body stretch and sideways hip control
Hang on to the bars at the sides of the pool. Put 1, 2 or 3 noodles under your hips and try to move your legs from side to side. This will strengthen the muscle in your spine and make your hips and lower spine more flexible. Be gentle at least until you are used to it.
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4 Hip twist for strength and control
Place one or two noodles under your arms to keep you horizontal and one on which to rest your head. Hold the bath-side bars and stretch out. That alone is good. Put one leg on top of the other, or even take it a little further, and twist from the hips. Put the other leg on top when you twist the other side. Always twist away from the normal side of the upper leg.
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5 Knees, hips and lower spine
In walking forward lift your knee as high as it will go. This bends your knee and strengthens those lifting muscles so that you are less likely to trip over something. It also moves your hip and lower spine. The water should help you to balance. Use floats for balance only if necessary.
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6 Squats to strengthen legs
Stand with your feet apart the width of your hips. Without holding on to anything, bend your knees until they are at right angles. Hold it and then slowly stand up straight. It is better to move slowly and in control rather than fast or jerkily.
You may think squatting on only one leg is very difficult, not least to maintain balance. For an elderly person it is, but remember, although the water resists you downwards and upwards, it also supports you. Your body floats naturally. It’s OK to hold on.
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7 Balance, knees, hips and flexible control
Bend your knee backwards towards your bottom as far as it will go and down again. This is difficult at first, but you will adjust quickly.
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8 Stand erect for spine and shoulders
Stand erect and pull back your shoulders standing at attention. Then pull them back even further. Hold them still at the furthest point. Can you hold a pencil between your shoulder blades?
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9 Arm and shoulder
Stick your elbow firmly into your side. Don’t move it away. Move your forearm pivoting at that point from behind you forwards to stretching across your tummy and back again. Do these movements slowly and in control, not fast and jerkily.
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10 Sideways stretch
Stand erect and tall. Hold the bar if you have to. Stick your leg out to the side so that you are standing of one leg and slowly down again. A variation is to remove your hands from the bar and rotate your body towards facing your horizontal leg.
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11 Twist for spinal flexibility
Stand with your feet apart at the width of your hips. Bend knees ideally so that your shoulders are just under the water. Then rotate your body fully in both directions to get your spine flexible. I play table tennis, too, where this rotation is more important than waving one’s arms holding a bat. So in table tennis too, this exercise is very important to warm up and be flexible.
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12 Gentle shoulder push
Hold a float or paddle horizontal in front of your chest. Push it down strongly. Another option is to push it, and a wave of water, away from you. Do the same when pulling it back. Having the paddle vertical makes it a tougher exercise.
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13 Walking forwards, backwards and sideways with ankle resistance
Stand up straight. Wearing flippers, bend and straighten alternate knees and, as the knee straightens, stretch the foot forwards from the ankle. Try the same walking backwards and then sideways. With flippers on, this is a tough exercise. The faster you walk the harder it will be.
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14 Ankle flexing
At the corner of the pool place a noodle or two under your thighs; support yourself with your arms along the sides of the pool, and lie out horizontally. Then turn your ankle left, right, up and down. For extra strength, wear a flipper.
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15 Strong shoulder pull and push
Over grasp the bar so that your head is high enough to breathe. Pull yourself up to the bar. Then push yourself away. This is a tougher exercise than it looks. The flippers add resistance and make it tougher still. As a second option, pull your knees toward your chest, then straighten the leg pushing the water away.
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16 Strongly resisted hip mobility
Swing your leg backwards and forwards. You can do it without flippers. The flippers provide great resistance. You will need to hold the bar.