Senegal’s aquagym classes offer hope and healing for people with reduced mobility

DAKAR, Senegal — The sun has not yet risen in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, but around a hundred people in swimsuits and life jackets are already crowding part of the beach, ready for aquagym classes.

In the cold of the Atlantic, Aminata Sall, 63, soon falls into step with the others, foam noodles under her arms. On the beach, people with limited mobility are buried knee-deep in sand and gently rotate their torsos in a therapy session intended to relieve pain.

Sall’s doctor once warned her that she could lose the ability to walk within five years because of rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes pain, stiffness and swelling of the lining of the joints and can cause serious damage if left untreated.

“The shock was enormous,” she said. “I stayed at home for almost a year, doing nothing. » Then one morning, she went to a beach in the Ngor district of Dakar and saw people exercising in the water.

“I asked what they were doing and they told me to try it,” she said. “I’m still walking.”

Senegal’s first aqua aerobics program, with its low-impact exercises, has won praise from medical professionals for helping people with limited mobility caused by chronic illnesses such as heart disease, stroke and arthritis.

As life expectancy rises sharply in Africa, these diseases have become more common, often leaving older people with pain and limited mobility. But prevention, diagnostic and rehabilitation services have not kept pace on a largely young continent whose public health systems prioritize infectious diseases, maternal and child care.

Many older adults have little access to geriatricians or other physicians and tend to forgo diagnostics or treatments to reduce costs.

Water aerobics emerged a little over a decade ago as a rare and inexpensive option for relieving pain and improving mobility.

After Sall was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, she said her doctor told her she would need surgery that would cost about $10,000, which she couldn’t afford. She was prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication, but it was later withdrawn from the market due to complications.

“That’s when I started to lose hope,” she says. “Some mornings, a blocked vertebra or swollen ankles prevented me from moving all day. »

In Senegal, most medical care is paid for out of pocket. Public insurance coverage is limited and private plans remain unaffordable for many. Expensive procedures like surgery are often not covered.

“Many people only come to us when the situation worsens and, at that point, it becomes much more difficult and more expensive to treat them,” said Dr. Seydina Ousmane Ba, director of the National Center for Orthopedic Prosthetics and Rehabilitation in Dakar.

Khadija Wade, 76, suffers from spinal stenosis, a degenerative disease that can compress and irritate the nerves in the spinal cord. She was diagnosed three years ago and her condition worsened after the death of her husband earlier this year.

“I became very sedentary. I could spend a whole month at home without walking,” Wade said.

Many have suggested she see a specialist in Italy or France, but visas are difficult to obtain for many Senegalese and treatment abroad is expensive.

Last month, Wade started water aerobics classes at the recommendation of his doctor. She said she’s already seeing results.

“I came to my first session with a cane, but now I can walk without it,” she said.

People with reduced mobility in West Africa face particularly significant obstacles, said Clément Philit, director of Handicap International in Senegal. Public spaces and transportation are often inaccessible, and specialized health care and rehabilitation services are scarce, he said.

“Aqua aerobics has benefits that you don’t always get on land,” Ba said. “Water supports your body, reduces pain and makes movement easier, so patients can exercise more comfortably. »

The program’s founder and coach, Ndiamé Samb, 69, worked as a firefighter specializing in underwater operations before becoming a lifeguard in 1988, teaching swimming to elderly people.

Samb is a member of the Lebu, considered the indigenous people of the Dakar Peninsula, who have strong cultural and spiritual ties to the ocean.

During training in Paris, Samb discovered aquagym and its benefits. His courses in Dakar are among the few in the world to take place at sea rather than in a swimming pool. Public swimming pools remain rare and the sea is free.

“At first there were only eight or 10 people coming to class,” Samb said. “But now we sometimes have up to 200 people per session and have a total of around 600 students. »

The low-cost aquagym classes — 300 CFA francs ($0.50) per session — are led by volunteer coaches. The fees are used to operate the center and purchase equipment, as well as a $3,000 grant awarded by the City this year.

Samb’s brother Alassane, 60, a licensed lifeguard and massage therapist, guides new participants and says some even come from France and the United States for treatment.

As the day’s session ends, Sall emerges from the water with a smile. She comes there three times a week.

“What keeps me coming back is seeing other people not give up,” she said.

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