Question
How does the viscosity of water effect muscle contraction and exercise in the water?
Answer
Viscosity is the thickness of the water. The thickness of the water changes our muscle contraction. It elicits drag resistance. If I am doing an arm curl (bringing my fingertips up to touch my shoulder, flexing my elbow )and then straightening/extending and I am doing this on land, I am going to just be working my biceps. I am working my biceps concentrically and eccentrically. I work it as it shortens and I work at as it lengthens or as it fights gravity, overcomes gravity or resists gravity. In the aquatic environment, we are no longer dealing with gravitational pull, depending on depth. Let's say we are submerged and therefore we are no longer dealing with gravitational pull. Now we have to deal with the thickness of the water. If I am doing that simple arm curl, flexion and extension of the elbow, as I flex my elbow, I am working my biceps concentrically, because that is the muscle that has to overcome the thickness of the water, and as I extend my arm as I go into extension on my elbow, I am working my triceps concentrically, because now I have to push against the water in the opposite direction.
Continued and its subsidiaries provide professional education authored by qualified Subject Matter Experts for continuing education purposes. These materials are intended for educational purposes and do not constitute medical advice or a substitute for individual clinical judgment. Continued is not a clinical healthcare provider; the licensed professional is solely responsible for ensuring that the application of any techniques or information presented is within their legal scope of practice and jurisdictional requirements.
