Student/Therapist Resources

Purpose of the Chapter 3: Dynamic Fluid Anatomy & Physiology and Hydrotherapy

Key Concepts

• Understand the relationship between water used in hydrotherapy treatments and therapeutic transformation that take place in the anatomy & physiology of the client. 
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• Understand each of the traditional gross anatomy 11 systems of the body have dynamic fluid elements (components) and that these dynamic fluid elements helps us understand the relationship between hydrotherapy and many of the therapeutic changes that take place during and after a hydrotherapy treatment.
  
  Integumentary System Example:  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)
  
  Circulatory System Example:- 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 treatment, 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)
  
  
• Understanding that 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 involved in all the key physiological functions of the cells, fluid systems and extra-cellular matrixes.
  
  The Dynamic Fluid Cellular Structural Paradigm of the Human Body as presented in Chapter 3. 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?
  
  

Additional suggested Study, Research and Teaching Exercises

• Integumentary System (Skin)
  Internet Educational Resource: 
  HyperPhysics Link  Sweating 
  
  
• Cardiovascular System
  Internet Educational Resource: 
  HyperPhysics Link  Blood flow in the capillaries. (Scroll down to see all the information on the page)
  

• Dynamic Fluid Cellular Structural Paradigm
  Teaching Example
  
  Perform Teaching Exercise 3-3 Cells is a Fluid Environment. Have do this in the classroom if possible, or at home is a bathtub. Every cell in the human body in fully or partially surrounded by interstitial fluid. 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 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