Mission Paani Waterthon: Akshay Kumar says hydrotherapy helped his recovery from slipped disc

Leaders and changemakers will join hands for an initiative towards saving water and sustaining it for the generations to come under the Mission Paani Waterthon, an initiative by News18 and Harpic India which is set to bring together some of the biggest celebrities. Hosted by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, the campaign ambassador, the event will emphasise on ‘Paani Ki Kahaani, Bhaarat Ki Zubaani’, the theme to raise awareness about water crisis in India. Kumar, while addressing the people on the need to conserve water, spoke on the many positives of hydrotherapy. The actor, who is a fitness junkie, has often spoken about his rigorous training sessions and he gave a sneak peek into how water helped him recover. Hydrotherapy or aquatherapy is a form of activity performed in water to help with rehabilitation and recovery from hard training or serious injury. This has increasingly become a popular form of treatment and exercise for athletes. Speaking about a difficult time back in the 1990s when he had suffered from slipped disc, the superstar said how hydrotherapy was something that was able to bring him back relief when nothing else worked for him. The superstar, elaborating on it further, said how while performing a difficult stunt for a film, he had lifted The Undertaker and ended up suffering from slipped disc. When none of the treatment worked, his doctor suggested him to undergo hydrotherapy. Explaining the process, the actor said, “The process entails working out in the water. Be it running, walking or any form of exercise, hydrotherapy involves working out in the water. What happens in this case is that the water pulls away the impact of the exercise and the buoyancy of water reduces the stress of bearing weight on one’s body.” Kumar added that one can perform exercise such as these in swimming pools or in any water body. He also spoke about a recent addition to his work out equipment, a water treadmill. Elaborating on the same, the actor showed a short clip of himself running inside the treadmill and also explained how the water that he uses in the exercise can be stored, cleaned and reused for upto 3-4 months, thus ensuring minimum wastage of water. You can contribute to the cause by taking a Jal Pratigya. Visit  www.news18.com/mission-paani Watch the Waterthon LIVE here.