Science and Swimming

Swimming is as old as the Stone Age. Writing references can be dated back to 2000 BC and drawings were found in the cave of swimmers near Sura, Egypt. Competitions in swimming started somewhere around 1800, in Europe. Until then the breaststroke was very famous and John Arthur Trudgen started the front crawl or the trudgen in 1873. It was added as a sport in the 1896 Athens Summer Olympics, which were the first modern Olympics. Butterfly stroke was recognized in 1952, before which it was known as a variation of breaststroke.

The water within the human body has a little less density compared to that of the water outside, which forces the body to the surface. To move forward, the water around should be pushed backward and to float, the water should be pushed downward. The pushing is done by using hands as paddles and kicking with the legs. It takes less effort to swim and float in the ocean than in a swimming pool because salty water has more density than fresh water because of the salts.  

The basic principle involved in all swimming styles is that the body should be kept parallel to the surface of the water and the hands should be positioned in outward direction, inline with the head, so as to cut though the water and reduce the friction. The more the body is slanted, the more the drag. Also, by extending the hands, the average length at the water line is increased which is directly proportional to the increase in the speed. 

Swimmers who have a good acceleration of hips have a good hand force. The force of the hand is related to the rotation of the hips and not the muscles in the arms. The stronger the hip muscles, the more the torque generated. The body should be in an incline position so as to reduce the frontal cross-section and drag. By doing so the shoulders do not generate bow waves and the water line is not broken.

According to hydrodynamics, the movement of the hands and legs, from back to front, should be as much in air as in water, during the recovery stroke. The shoulder rotation is necessary for the forward motion and it requires strong abdominal muscles. Some of the swimmers flatten their palms to move the water backward and some spread their fingers slightly. Breathing is another important factor to be worked on while swimming. Correct way of breathing can increase performance and decrease fatigue. The body should be trained to work on less amount of oxygen because professional swimmers take breath in one stroke and let it out slowly till the fourth stroke. Taking a deep breath and submerging in the water, while kicking in the water, can control breath.

Children can be made to join summer camps that give swimming lessons. Swimmers need to wear body skin kind of swimsuits so as to reduce the drag and beginners can use aids such as Styrofoam Board until they learn swimming properly. Beginners should concentrated on increasing the strength along with the other techniques.

Swimming is a great exercise as there is less impact on the joints and bones because the density of water is similar to the density of the human body and the water supports the body. It is usually used to treat people with certain disabilities and injuries. Swimming is an aerobic exercise and is a good way to beat stress.

The problems and hazards related to swimming are drowning and water inhalation in a contaminated environment. Extreme exhaustion can lead to unconsciousness. Weaker people should avoid it because it can be a cause to heart attacks, stroke, shallow water blackout and carotid sinus syncope. Excess water intake in salty water can form foam in the lungs, which effects breathing badly. Regular swimmers get exostosis or swimmers’ ear, which is abnormal growth in the ear canal and athlete’s foot, which is bacterial infection in between the toes. Chemicals in the swimming pools can cause skin and eye irritation and can even discolor the hair. Asthmatics should avoid excess swimming in swimming pool, as the chlorine inhalation will affect their lungs badly.  While swimming in ocean, precautions should be taken, as there is an increased risk of getting jellyfish sting or harm from any other aquatic animal.