Aqua Therapy

When UB student-athletes need to recover from lower-body injury, they head underwater—sort of. In 2014, UB installed a Hydroworx underwater treadmill as part of the renovation of the Smolinski Family Sports Medicine Center in Alumni Arena. The treadmill functions similarly to the dry-land variety. “The difference comes in the resistance from the water,” says Brian Bratta, assistant athletic director of sports medicine. “It reduces the compression in joints when the foot lands but requires more force produced by the muscles to push through the water.”