Page 8 - HFA Dateline 2013 Q4 Winter

A therapeutic Revolution is underway By ogden M. Forbes, Ed.D. and Jane Forbes, R.n. swimming is fun! No doubt about it did you know that water is a great place for people who have hemophilia to build stronger bodies? It’s true and for many families swimming has become just the thing to provide not only fun, but a great form of exercise to keep a bleeders body healthy and strong The forbes family from Pasadena, California is living this example Learn more about them and how finding a swimming facility in their area has positively impacted their lives ach year as the holiday season be- Egins, the forbes family gives thanks for the many gifts and blessings we have received Perhaps no gift has been great- er for our family than the discovery of an oasis in our neighborhood—an oasis that brings strength to our four sons with se- vere Hemophilia A It is the oasis known today as the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center— a non-profit organization in Pasadena, California Now that our children are be- coming fully independent adults, moving on to college, and self-infusing, we want- first, swimming provides buoyancy, an all-surrounding, anti-gravity environment for ed to share a few insights we have learned approximately ten years, our sons have been swimming from two to three hours a day, along the way six days a week, in this environment In other words, our sons have been strengthen- To minimize bleeding episodes, it is ing their muscles in the pool where their bones and the weight of their bodies, cannot commonly known that individuals must in any way cause bleeding No other sport can provide this buoyant, anti-gravity envi- infuse prophylactically It is also known ronment Is it any wonder why many professional athletes almost universally partici- that selective exercising can help reduce pate in a variety of anti-gravity rehabilitation exercises? bleeding episodes by strengthening Second, swimming brings viscosity, an all-surrounding natural resistance applicable those muscles around the target joints to all movement directions, to the athletic environment exercise intensity can be var- that support the bones that frequently ied easily by increasing surface area or movement speed Thus, the swimming exer- cause the bleeding to occur for many cise becomes a highly efficient workout for nearly all individuals, no matter the age, years, hematologists have been produc- the conditioning, the weight, or the experience ing top lists of exercises and sports most helpful to those with bleeding disorders Third, swimming provides a substantial reduction in momentum Speed is reduced for years, swimming has been at the very caused by the resistance of the all-surrounding water—a reduction that nearly elimi- top of these lists No other form of exer- nates any form of impact or trauma Though our sons are outstanding competitors, cise or sport comes close to providing for their swimming speeds will never match the speed of athletes running or bicy- the unique medical needs of those with cling precisely, because those athletes experience much less overall environmental bleeding disorders Why is this true? resistance 8 Dateline Federation | Winter 2013