Aging & the Autonomic Nervous System: Effects of Cool, Neutral, and Warm Water Immersion Bruce Becker, M.D. - Washington State University

Aquatic immersion produces dramatic effects upon the human body, and these effects are quite dependent upon immersion temperatures. In 2007, we studied the effects of immersion temperatures upon the autonomic nervous system, the circulatory system, and the cardiovascular systems in a group of healthy young adults. We found a very major increase in peripheral circulation, a decrease in blood pressure and alternations in the sympathetic nervous systems that mimic the relaxation response during warm water immersion. We presented these results at the 2007 World Aquatic Health Conference. During the past summer, we have assessed the same physiologic variables in older adults (ages 40-65) using a similar research protocol to compare the changes seen with those found in our younger adult subjects.
We will be presenting this new data, comparing the results seen in the younger population with the results gathered from the older adults. There are some remarkable differences, and the potential health implications of both the differences and the similarities of responses will be discussed.

Biographical Information:

A graduate of Tulane University School of Medicine, Dr. Becker completed his residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Washington. Prior to moving to Spokane, Dr. Becker was an Associate Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine as well as Residency Program Director for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Wayne State University School of Medicine. He served as Vice President of Medical Affairs for the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan from January, 1992 until June, 1998. He moved to Spokane to serve as Medical Director of St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute from June, 1998 until January, 2006. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Research Professor at Washington State University, where he directs the National Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute studying the effects of aquatic activity.

Prior to assuming those roles, he was in private practice with Rehabilitation Medicine Associates in Eugene, Oregon, where he founded the Oregon Rehabilitation Center, and served as its Medical Director for many years. He has been interested in fitness, conditioning and the medical problems of the performing athlete throughout his career. He has a major interest in aquatic rehabilitation, and is President of the American Society of Medical Hydrology. In 1997, Dr. Becker and Andrew Cole, MD co-authored the textbook Comprehensive Aquatic Therapy published by Butterworth-Heinemann, which is also published in Portuguese and German. The second edition of the textbook was published in 2002 by Elsevier, and a third edition is in progress to be published by Lippencott Williams and Wilkins in 2008. He has published chapters on aquatic therapy in the leading textbooks in rehabilitation, and lectured nationally and internationally in the area of aquatics. In 1996, Dr. Becker was chosen for listing in Best Doctors in America, Midwest Edition by Woodward and White, and was honored by his peers every year from 1998 to the present through his selection to the Best Doctors in America: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation listings. In 1999, Dr. Becker was named Aquatic Professional of the Year by the Aquatic Therapy and Rehabilitation Institute at their annual meeting in San Diego. He was named to the Power 25 in Aquatics by Aquatics International Magazine in 2006.

Dr. Becker is the recipient of 3 research grants from the NSPF, as well as a 5-year contribution to Washington State University for creation of the National Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute, which he directs.