Background
Methods
Eligibility criteria
Type of participants
Type of studies
Intervention
Outcome measures
Data extraction and coding
Risk of bias and publication bias assessment
Meta-analysis
Results
Study selection
Characteristics of included studies
Participants
Study | Group | Sample size (post-intervention) | Drop-outs (attrition rate: %) | Age: mean (SD) | Diagnosis | Type of pool/Gym | Water depth | Water/Room temperature (°C) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adsett et al. 2017 [30] | AE | 36 (33) | 3 (8%) | 72.9 (8.4) | Heart failure | Heated pool in hospital | Chest level | 33–34 |
LE | 25 (25) | 0 (0%) | 68.3 (11.3) | Gymnasium in the hospital | NA | NR | ||
Arnold et al. 2008 [11] | AE | 21 (16) | 5 (24%) | 68.6 (5.4) | Osteoporosis | Community pool | Varied from shoulder to waist | 30 |
LE | 20 (15) | 5 (25%) | 69.1 (6.3) | Community gym | NA | NR | ||
Avelar et al. 2010 [32] | AE | 14 (12) | 2 (14%) | 68.0 (5.7) | Healthy | Physical therapy pool | NR | NR |
LE | 15 (14) | 1 (7%) | 69.0 (5.6) | Physical therapy gym | NA | NR | ||
Bergamin et al. 2013 [34] | AE | 20 (17) | 3 (15%) | Total: 71.2 (5.4) | Healthy | Hot spring water | 1.3–1.8 m | 36.2 |
LE | 20 (17) | 3 (15%) | NR | NA | 20.1 | |||
Pérez de la Cruz et al. 2017 [37] | AE | 15 (15) | 0 (0%) | 66.8 (5.3) | Parkinson’s | Indoor pool | 1.1–1.45 m | 30 (room: 27.5) |
LE | 15 (15) | 0 (0%) | 67.5 (9.9) | Gym (varied) | NA | NR | ||
Pérez de la Cruz et al. 2018 [36] | AE | 14 (14) | 0 (0%) | 65.9 (7.1) | Parkinson’s | Indoor pool | 1.1 m | 30 (room: 27.5) |
LE | 15 (15) | 0 (0%) | 66.4 (5.7) | NR | NA | NR | ||
Simmons and Hansen 1996 [33] | AE | 13 (10) | 3 (23%) | 82.0 (5.4) | Healthy | Outdoor pool | 1–1.4 m (between waist and nipple line) | 29.4–32.2 |
LE | 13 (12) | 1 (8%) | 78.2 (5.8) | Carpeted indoor church hall | NA | NR | ||
Vivas et al. 2011 [38] | AE | 6 (5) | 1 (17%) | 65.7 (3.7) | Parkinson’s | City spa | 1.3 m | 32 |
LE | 6 (6) | 0 (0%) | 68.3 (6.9) | NR | NA | NR | ||
Volpe et al 2014 [39] | AE | 17 (17) | 0 (0%) | 68.0 (7.0) | Parkinson’s | NR | NR | NR |
LE | 17 (17) | 0 (0%) | 66.0 (8.0) | NR | NA | NR | ||
Volpe et al. 2017 [40] | AE | 15 (13) | 2 (13%) | 70.6 (7.8) | Parkinson’s | Therapeutic swimming pool | Chest level (Mammillary line) | NR |
LE | 15 (11) | 4 (27%) | 70.0 (7.8) | NR | NA | NR | ||
Zivi et al., 2018 [35] | AE | 21 (21) | 0 (0%) | 66.3 (13.0) | Peripheral neuropathies | Heated swimming pool | NR | 32 |
LE | 19 (19) | 0 (0%) | 71.8 (7.7) | NR | NA | NR |
Aquatic setting and interventions
Study | Administrator | Dosage | Total duration (week) | Warm-up (min) | Main exercise (min) | Cool down (min) | Exercise details | Individually adjusted intensity | Aids/equipment for AE | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Min/session | Time/week | ||||||||||
Adsett et al. 2017 [30] | Physical therapist | 60 | 1 | 6 | Yes (time NR) | 45 | Yes (time NR) | Upper and lower limb endurance and resistance exercises | Y (RPE) | Cycling, steps, hand paddles, floatation rings | |
Arnold et al. 2008 [11] | Physical therapis | 50 | 3 | 20 | 15 | 30 | 5 | Gait, postural correction, upper/lower extremity mobility and stretching, trunk stabilization, resistance exercises, balance | Y (RPE) | Music, paddleboards, small weights, flotation devices | |
Avelar et al. 2010 [32] | NR | NR | 2 | 6 | 3.5 | NR (reps: 4 × 20) | 3 | Endurance exercises | NR | NR | |
Bergamin et al. 2013 [34] | Exercise trainer | 60 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 50 | 8 | Lower and upper body exercises (joint mobility, strengthening) | Y (RPE) | Not used | |
Pérez de la Cruz et al. 2017 [37] | Physical therapist | 45 | 2 | 10 | AE | Yes (time NR) | 35 | Yes (time NR) | Aquatic Ai Chi | NR | NR |
LE | 10 | 25 | 10 | Strength and aerobic exercises | |||||||
Pérez de la Cruz et al. 2018 [36] | Physical therapist | 45 | 2 | 11 | AE | Yes (time NR) | 30 | Yes (time NR) | Aquatic Ai Chi | NR | NR |
LE | 10 | 30–40 | 20 | Strength and aerobic exercises | |||||||
Simmons and Hansen 1996 [33] | NR | 45 | 2 | 5 | NR | 45 | NR | Gait training | NR | NR | |
Vivas et al. 2011 [38] | Physical therapist | 45 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 35 | 0 | Trunk mobility, postural stability training, dynamic balance | Y | Flotation devices, water turbulence, balance plate, stick and hoop | |
Volpe et al. 2014 [39] | NR | 60 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 40 | 10 | Perturbation-based balance training | NR | NR | |
Volpe et al. 2017 [40] | Physical therapist | 60 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 40 | 10 | Exercises for postural deformities | NR | Flotation device | |
Zivi et al., 2018 [35] | Physical therapist | 60 | 3 | 4 | NR | 60 | NR | Balance, posture control, and gait exercises | NR | Treadmill, cycloergometer, cyclette, stabilometric platform |
Outcome measurements and summary of the results
Study | Outcome measures | Follow-up | Adverse events | Participants feedback | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adsett et al. 2017 [30] | 6MWT, TUG, 10-m walk test (speed), BOOMER | N | Shortness of breath (1), dizziness (2) | Reported | LE group showed greater improvements in 6MWT. No significant differences in 10-m gait speed and BOOMER. |
Arnold et al. 2008 [11] | BBS, FRT, backward tandem walk | N | Pain: 29% AE, 52% LE. Muscle cramping and stiffness: 25% AE, 3% LE | NR | AE group showed a greater improvement only in the backward tandem walk versus LE group. No significant differences in BBS and FRT between two groups. |
Avelar et al. 2010 [32] | DGI, BBS, Tandem gait test, 10-m gait speed test | N | NR | NR | Both intervention groups showed improvements only in DGI and BBS, with no difference between groups. |
Bergamin et al. 2013 [34] | 8-foot up-and-go test | N | None | NR | Both intervention groups showed improvements, with significantly greater improvement in AE group. |
Pérez de la Cruz et al. 2017 [37] | BBS, Tinetti Scale, FTSTS, TUG | 1 month | None | NR | Only AE group showed improvements in all variables, except the FTSTS. LE group showed no improvements in any of the balance measures. |
Pérez de la Cruz et al. 2018 [36] | TUG, FTSTS, | 1 month | NR | NR | AE (Ai Chi) group showed improvements in TUG and FTSTS in post-treatment and 1-month follow-up, whereas the dryland group showed no significant differences. |
Simmons and Hansen 1996 [33] | FRT | N (10–12: injury tracking) | NR | NR | AE group showed gradual improvements in each week. LE group showed improvement only in the initial week. At week 5 (post), AE group showed significant improvement compared to LE groups. |
Vivas et al. 2011 [38] | FRT, BBS, 5-m walk test, TUG | 17 days | NR | NR | Both exercise groups showed improvements in FRT. Only the AE group improved in the BBS. |
Volpe et al 2014 [39] | Instrumental version of FRT, TUG, BBS, | N | None | NR | Both groups showed improvements in all outcome variables, with a better improvement in AE group BBS. |
Volpe et al. 2017 [40] | TUG, BBS | 2 months | NR | NR | Both groups showed improvements in all parameters, with no intergroup differences. |
Zivi et al., 2018 [35] | BBS, Dynamic Gait Index | N | NR | NR | AE group showed a greater improvement in the Dynamic Gait Index. No significant difference in BBS between groups. |