Instructor Resources

Chapter 3: Dynamic Fluid Anatomy & Physiology and Hydrotherapy

Purpose of Chapter 3

For the Student to understand:

• The relationship between water used in hydrotherapy treatments and therapeutic transformation that take place in the anatomy & physiology of the client. 
  
  
• That each of the traditional 11 systems of the body, from the perspective of  gross anatomy, have dynamic fluid elements (components) and how understanding these dynamic elements helps us understand the relationship between hydrotherapy and many of the therapeutic changes that take place.
  
  
• The human body can also be understood a collection of 100 trillion individual cells that function together synergistically to allow the human organism function. The body is approximately 60% water and water and is involved is all of the metabolic activity of every cell in the body.
  
  
• The human body is 80% liquid, approximately 60% water and 20% fat (lipids) and the structural element of the body is approximately 20% 
  

Lesson: Dynamic Fluid Anatomy & Physiology and Hydrotherapy

Have the students read the chapter and then discuss the chapter during a classroom session. Refer to the textbook for detailed information for the discussion and teaching exercises discussed below.

• Discuss: That the human body is approximately 60% water (10 gallons) and that water is involved all aspects of the physiological function of the body as well as being in a continual state of dynamic circulation. Refer to Figure 7.1 Total Circulation of Water in the Human Body  See Figure 3-3 Body is 80% Liquid: 60% Water, 20% Lipid (fat)
  
  
• Discuss: The dynamic fluid cellular feature of each of the 11 systems of the human body and give an example for each system of how a hydrotherapy treatment produces positive therapeutic benefits.
  
  Example: Integumentary System - Blood flow to the skin is normal 8% of the total blood volume but can increase to as much as 30% of the total blood volume when the core temperature is elevated (cooling response). Hydrotherapy treatments that increase the core temperature of body, for example a full-body steam therapy treatment, increase the core temperature of the body which in turn increases the flow of blood to the skin as mentioned above. Internet Educational Resource: HyperPhysics Link (Sweating)
  
  Example: Circulatory System - The heart pumps approximately 3,600 gallons of blood a day, through a vascular system that is greater than 60,000 miles long, to more than 10 billion capillary beds to provide continual circulation to the approximately 100 trillion cells of the human body. Heating hydrotherapy treatments, by increasing the core temperature and temperature of the cells, increase the flow rate of circulation to the cells to supply the increased need for oxygen and nutrients. Internet Educational Resource: HyperPhysics Link (blood flow in the capillaries)
  
  
• Discuss: The Dynamic Fluid Cellular Structural Paradigm of the Human Body as presented in Chapter 4. How does this paradigm differ from the gross anatomy paradigm? How does this paradigm provide a better understanding of the relationship of water used in hydrotherapy treatments to the therapeutic transformations that take place inside the human body? What the implications for the structural solid system of the body, which is only about 20% of the total weight of the body, of supporting 80% of the weight of the body which is fluid? How does heating the structural matrix of the body, especially the fascial matrix, change it in positive ways for the performance of bodywork treatments?
  
  
• Discuss: How different types hydrotherapy treatments change the functioning of the cells and the fluid dynamics of the blood plasma, interstitial, lymphatic and intracellular fluid.
  
  
• Exercise: Have the students perform Teaching Exercise 3-3 Cells is a Fluid Environment. Have them do this in the classroom if possible, or at home in a bathtub. Every cell in the human body in fully or partially surrounded by interstitial fluid and oxygen and nutrients must diffuse through the interstitial fluid to the cells. The major exception to this are the red blood cells that live surrounded by blood plasma rather than interstitial fluid.

Suggested Reading 

Note: All of the information on anatomy & physiology referred to in this chapter, were taken from the textbooks listed below.

Science of Flexibility: Alter, M. (2004). Science of Flexibility (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
This is an excellent reference book on the structural matrix of the body, especially regarding the principles of stretching as it applies to health, sports and bodywork. It contains references to all relevant studies on this topic.

Textbook of Medical Physiology: Guyton, A., & Hall, J. (2004).  10th ed.). Elsevier.
This was the main textbook on anatomy & physiology used in writing of this textbook and contains detailed information that provides insights into the dynamic fluid cellular functioning of  the human body. 

Principles of Anatomy and Physiology: Tortora, G., & Grabowski, S. (2003).  (10th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
This is the standard textbook used by many schools teaching anatomy & physiology. It has high quality illustrations, but is not nearly as detailed nor comprehensive as the Textbook of Medical Physiology, listed above

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. List some of the different systems of the human body and give an example of a fluid dynamic element of each of these systems. Answer: The skin has a normal flow rate of 8% of the total blood volume that can increase to 30% when the body is try to cool itself. The heart pumps approximately 3,600 gallons of blood per day

2. Describe how hydrotherapy can be used as a therapeutic treatment in each of the above examples. Answer: A steam therapy treatment can be use to increase the core temperature of the body which will increase blood flow to the skin and increase the total amount of blood the heart is pumping each minute.

3. Explain where the approximately 10 gallons of water is located in the human body. Answer: 66% is inside the 100 trillion cells of the body, 27% is in the interstitial fluid and 7% is in the blood.

4. Explain how this water is in a continual state of circulation. Answer: There is continual circulation between the blood plasma, the interstitial fluid and the fluid inside the 100 trillion cells of the body. Water is the main component of all these fluids of the body.

5. How does the endocrine system depend on the healthy circulation of the body? Answer: Hormones must circulate from the endocrine cells that produced the hormone to the target cells that use the hormone.

6. How does the deep relaxation produced by hydrotherapy treatments affect the endocrine system? Answer: Hydrotherapy treatments produce relaxation, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which decreases the level of "stress" hormones, namely, cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine

7. How does the sensory input from a hydrotherapy treatment influence the functioning of the nervous system? Answer: Sensory input is processed by the brain, which interprets it as relaxing or stimulating, which in turn produces a response by the autonomic nervous system.

8. Why can the human body also be considered a dynamic fluid cellular system? Answer: Because the body is made up of 100 trillion cells that live in a fluid matrix (interstitial fluid) and the heart pumps 3,600 gallons of blood a day to bring continual circulation to every cell in the body.

9. What percentage of the body is fluid? Answer: 80%. 60% water and 20% fat (lipids)

10. What percentage is solid (structural)? Answer: 20%

11. Explain the relationship between the water used during a hydrotherapy treatment and the changes it produces in the dynamic fluid and cellular systems inside the body? Answer: Water used during hydrotherapy treatments and water in the human body behave according to the same principles. For example, hot water used during a hydrotherapy treatment will increase the water temperature inside the human body. Water pressure used during a hydrotherapy treatment will increase the flow rate of water inside the body.