What are the benefits of practicing sports in a swimming pool?
Vincent Detaille: “It’s one of the sports that can be practiced to get back into activity. It’s important to do sport at any age, I would say even more so when you’re older and the swimming pool is very accessible on a physical level. The body is carried in the water, so there is less stress on the joints. The only problem may be for the shoulders but otherwise for the spine, the crawl allows you to reach far, stretching movements. What we do in physiotherapy we can easily do in the swimming pool. At the material level it is also accessible: a swimsuit, glasses and payment for entry to the swimming pool. Patients sometimes regret that the slots are limited in the territory and with very busy pools, which can prevent them from doing what they want.
We have plenty of examples of patients who started swimming in the pool during rehabilitation and who ultimately made it their sporting activity.
When we talk about swimming, can it go from gentle to very intense practice?
The swimming pool can be very physical. We have the image of grandma’s peaceful aquagym but it can be very cardio. Swimming, aquabiking, aquagym can be very intense. There are many more uses of the swimming pool today. Water sports have developed. In physiotherapy too, the swimming pool has been used for a long time but it is done much more, even in the private sector. At the high level, it is widely used. For example, with the French women’s football team, we had a problem with a player’s muscle contusion during the Olympic Games. We used the swimming pool next door, it saves time. There are hot baths, cold baths, in Clairefontaine, we even have a lane swimming pool. This is a plus in care.
As a sports doctor, do you recommend that patients practice swimming?
Many people run but can no longer at some point due to osteoarthritis, for example. The swimming pool is a good alternative. Swimming is an activity that is easily recommended, there are still preconceptions, people who do not know how to swim, are not comfortable in the water, this can be repulsive for some but once we are hooked, we adhere. We have plenty of examples of patients who started in rehabilitation and who ultimately made it their sporting activity.”
Senegal
