Not many people put thought into muscle coordination and balance. Many don’t see its importance until it actually becomes an issue as they grow older. However, these abilities are crucial for everyday life.
Why they’re important
Muscle coordination entails using the right muscles at the right time to accomplish physical tasks. Balance, being able to stay upright and steady, is simply a part of muscle coordination. Both of these are needed in order to accomplish simple everyday tasks such as walking and brushing your teeth, and even more so when it comes to physical exercise and sports.
Those that have difficulty with coordination and balance are usually babies, young children, and elderly senior citizens. Children naturally have difficulty with balance and coordination as they are still trying to learn these skills. As you get older however, these also become an issue, which make falling and problematic injuries a real threat. Therefore, coordination and balance should always be a priority when it comes to physical mobility. They can help your overall quality of life.
How swimming helps
Swimming and other water aerobics are great ways to develop and improve balance and coordination. One of the main reasons behind this is that it strengthens key muscles and bones. Swimming does a great job in strengthening core muscles, as well as lower body muscles, which all contribute to balance. Core muscles are highly correlated to balance because they provide your ability to stabilize your overall hip, ankle, and knee movements. Not only that— as they connect your upper and lower body, they provide support for your upper body movements as well.
Both children and seniors have experienced the benefits that swimming offers for muscle coordination and balance. Swimming is seen to have amazing developmental benefits for children, providing many of them with advanced physical and mental development amongst peers. It’s also seen as a preferable form of exercise for seniors. Since water is denser than air, it provides more resistance to aid in building muscles (thus building stability). In fact, seniors who actively swim are about 30% less likely to fall due to imbalance compared to those who do not. Swimming also provides less impact on their bones and ligaments, as swimmers only carry 10%-50% of their body weight while in the water.
Swimming can boost the balance and coordination of any age. Make sure to strengthen to lessen mobility issues in the future!
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