Fantastic Water Workouts.

Gaines MP. Champaign, IL 61825-5076, Human Kinetics Publishers Inc, 1993, paperback, 175 pp, illus, $14.95.

If the establishing of the Aquatics Section of the American Physical Therapy Association is any indication, there is a growing interest in the provision of therapy in a pool environment. This book is meant as a guide for professionals using aquatic exercise to promote health and fitness. As a guide, the book is useful and can be recommended. It describes and illustrates 90 exercises, of which some are performed with and others are performed without equipment. Commercially available equipment is covered, and the manufacturers and distributors are listed. In addition to exercises and exercise equipment, the book addresses many of the mechanical and physiological principles that apply to water exercises. For all of the aforementioned information, the book can be recommended.

Although the majority of the book addresses activities appropriate for "healthy" individuals, specific suggestions are also provided for the elderly; women who are pregnant; and patients with cardiac disease, arthritis, or spinal pain. For neither the healthy individuals nor the individuals with special problems, however, is any documentation provided for the effectiveness of the recommended exercises. The book is devoid of references, even though several dozen research papers have been published that address the general effects of hydrotherapy on humans and the specific effects of hydrotherapy on patients with different diagnoses. in short, the book is scientifically underdeveloped. A profession such as physical therapy, which is placing a greater emphasis on the scientific basis of its practice and which will be called on increasingly to justify the cost effectiveness of its services, should not rely on books such as this one as a foundation for practice.

What is needed today are books that are both scientifically mature and practical in their recommendations. Neither Fantastic Water Workouts nor many of the other books currently available appear able to meet both criteria.