Walking and Running Kinesiology in Water: AA Review Of The Literature

A B S T R A C T Water has a density 800 times greater than that of air. During water exercise, kinetic and kinematic aspects such as body motion, ground reaction force, joint moment and muscle activity change dramatically compared with the same exercise forms on land mostly due to buoyancy and water drag force. This review of literature mainly focused on walking and running in water exercise. Furthermore, this article discussed future necessary study and practical implications. When walking in water, the motion was slower and joint motion was roughly similar to walking on land. However, some characteristics such as ground reaction force, lower extremity joint moment and muscle activity were much different from walking on land. During running in water, the motion was slower and joint motion was different from running on land. Ground reaction force and muscle activity showed discriminative differences compared with running on land. This review shows that investigation of kinesiology of running and other exercise forms in water were limited especially with regards to determining gender differences, and impact on those people with a disability or injury. Research of this nature would provide a useful suggestion for water exercise instruction to both different genders and populations. Key aspects of exercise in the water environment includes reduced gravity stress and increased safety without fear of injury or fall, which would suit a wide range of people. Future research possibilities were also discussed with practical implication for water exercise.