Aquatic Kinesiology & Biomechanics Flashcards

Laminar flow in aquatic therapy is characterized by water moving:

Answer: In smooth, parallel layers without cross-currents or eddies

Laminar flow occurs when water moves in ordered, parallel layers with minimal disruption, typically at lower velocities, providing predictable and uniform resistance.

The Magnus effect in aquatic therapy is most relevant when a patient performs:

Answer: Movements involving a spinning limb or equipment that generates a perpendicular lift force

The Magnus effect produces a force perpendicular to the direction of movement when a rotating object moves through fluid, relevant to spinning limbs or equipment during aquatic therapy.

Wave drag during aquatic therapy is most significant when the patient is exercising:

Answer: At or near the water surface where movement generates surface waves

Wave drag occurs at the air-water interface where body movement creates surface waves; it is negligible during full submersion and maximal when the patient moves at the waterline.

A patient with a higher percentage of body fat compared to lean muscle mass will demonstrate which aquatic biomechanical characteristic?

Answer: Lower specific gravity and greater ease of floating

Adipose tissue is less dense than muscle or bone, lowering the overall specific gravity of individuals with higher body fat percentages and increasing buoyancy.

When calculating the torque created by a buoyant force on a submerged limb, the lever arm should be measured from:

Answer: The joint axis of rotation to the center of buoyancy of the limb segment

Buoyant torque is calculated using the perpendicular distance from the joint's axis of rotation to the center of buoyancy of the limb, following standard torque mechanics.

Adding a paddle or webbed glove to a patient's hand during aquatic upper extremity exercise primarily increases resistance by:

Answer: Increasing form drag through a larger frontal surface area

A paddle increases the frontal surface area of the hand, which proportionally increases form drag (the dominant resistance mechanism in aquatic exercise) without altering water properties.

The velocity-resistance relationship in aquatic exercise means that a therapist can most efficiently progress exercise intensity by:

Answer: Slightly increasing the speed of limb movement to exponentially increase resistance

Because drag resistance scales with velocity squared, even modest increases in movement speed produce large increases in resistance, making velocity the most efficient progression tool in aquatic exercise.