About 6,000 people have hemophilia in the USA, and an estimated 15,000 all have a rare bleeding disorder. A sport like swimming brings many benefits.
Swimming is good for people with hemophilia
Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disease caused by the absence or deficiency of a clotting factor. Depending on the missing factor, we speak of hemophilia A or B.
This genetic disease mainly affects boys from birth. Bleeding is the main symptom. They occur in the skin in the event of a cut, but also in the muscles and joints.
These bleeding episodes damage joints and bones and can cause deformities.
Swimming, an activity without risk of shock
Living with hemophilia has implications for family, school, and athletic life. But it is possible, and even recommended, not only physically, but also morally, to play a sport.
It is necessary to choose a sport which does not involve the risk of shock such as swimming, gymnastics, walking … On the other hand, judo, boxing, rugby are to be banned.
Swimming is particularly recommended for people with a rare bleeding disorder. Whether it is hemophilia, but also Willebrand, Owren, Glanzmann’s disease …
Swimming makes it possible to strengthen the musculature around the joints and thus reduce the consequences of intra-articular hemorrhages linked to these pathologies.
It massages the muscles gently thanks to the weightlessness, and the joints are less exposed than on earth
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Swimming is good for your morale
On a psychological level, swimming helps the patient to improve his self-confidence, which is often damaged by illness. She helps him to move forward, to carry out projects.
“Like any parent learning of the disease, we are anxious on earth, so when Eudes was 6 months old, we decided to test the baby swimming activity,” says Sabine, his mother. At the first session, we watch for his reactions: he bursts out laughing, splashes us, crawls on the foam mats. He trusts him, and we learn to trust him over the course of the sessions with the advice of the lifeguard training. ”
To keep your body in good health, the regular practice of physical activity and a balanced diet are the first reflexes to adopt. But what must be done to keep the brain in good shape? This is what researchers at the University of Texas wanted to know, who discovered that sport also had its uses, but that it had to be combined with another discipline, mental training to obtain an optimal effect. . Indeed, if physical activity promotes good memory, mental training would be necessary to maintain cognitive functions.
“Many adults experience slow but significant cognitive changes especially in the areas of memory and executive functions, such as planning and problem solving,” says Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, lead author of the study. “We can lose 1% to 2% in overall blood flow to the brain every decade, starting in our 20s.” To conduct the study, the researchers brought in 36 adults aged 56 to 75 who were assigned to a dedicated brain training or physical training group for three-hour sessions per week for 12 weeks.
How to “muscle” your brain?
When the members of the first group were working on their capacity for attention, synthesis, reasoning, and decision-making, those of the second group practiced brisk walking or cycling with a focus on maintaining an elevated heart rate. Their blood flow to the brain was then measured using an MRI. Scientists found that the group that worked on physical performance showed better immediate and delayed memory and higher blood flow in the hippocampus, a region of the brain essential for memory and particularly vulnerable to aging and dementia.
People who worked on their cognitive performance showed improvements in cognitive decline as well as a 7.9% increase in overall blood flow to the brain. “Our research has shown that not all brain training protocols have the same benefits,” says Dr. Chapman, who adds: “They highlight the importance of maintaining brain health by developing daily habits that train body and mind. Future trials are needed to develop neuroprotective programs that unite physical and cognitive protocols. ”
With regard to physical capacities, the WHO recommends aerobic-type physical activity (endurance) of moderate-intensity for a minimum of 30 minutes 5 days a week. But how can you train your cognitive abilities? Many sites and applications offer free exercises to maintain brain plasticity and it is also possible to focus on daily activities that stimulate memory, logic, or calculation while involving a playful dimension. Crosswords or card games are examples of leisure activities to be practiced regularly.