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Aquatic Exercise Therapy is a type of complementary therapy which is administered in conjunction with other conventional modes of treatment for the treatment and rehabilitations of cerebral palsy patients. The aim of this study is investigating the effects of 8-week aquatic exercise therapy on the gross motor function of students with spastic cereb...
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Context 1
... participants were randomly divided into two groups: experimental (n=6) and control (n=6). Their anthropometric characteristics can be observed in Table 1. There were no significant differences in age, height, weight, and IQ between the groups and they were similar in these variables. ...Context 2
... participants were randomly divided into two groups: experimental (n=6) and control (n=6). Their anthropometric characteristics can be observed in Table 1. There were no significant differences in age, height, weight, and IQ between the groups and they were similar in these variables. ...Similar publications
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Citations
... It did mention that GMFM improved at the end of the treatment. The remaining three studies (Adar et al., 2017;Amini et al., 2020;Mostafa et al., 2021), with no significant change in their motor outcomes were compared with their control groups, two of which practiced land-based exercises whereas one received OT, although not during the intervention period. The reason might be due to the older age of the participants in two of the studies, namely, Amini et al. (2020) and Adar et al. (2017). ...
... The remaining three studies (Adar et al., 2017;Amini et al., 2020;Mostafa et al., 2021), with no significant change in their motor outcomes were compared with their control groups, two of which practiced land-based exercises whereas one received OT, although not during the intervention period. The reason might be due to the older age of the participants in two of the studies, namely, Amini et al. (2020) and Adar et al. (2017). Decrease in the rate of brain maturation and metabolism may have played its role here, as the older the children are, the slower is their rate of brain maturation when compared with younger children (Tau & Peterson, 2010;Gilmore, Knickmeyer, & Gao, 2018). ...
... The results achieved through this review were variable for different GMFCS levels. In general, patients with levels I-III, were seen to be benefitted with the intervention except for two studies, Adar et al. (2017) and Amini et al. (2020). ...
Background. Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common childhood disorders. Different treatment strategies are used to improve quality of life.
Aim. To systematically review the recent articles and investigate the effects of aquatic therapy on motor functions in children with cerebral palsy.
Methods. Studies between 2012–2022 were selected investigating the effects of aquatic therapy on motor functions in CP children. The databases Google Scholar, PubMed and PEDRO were used. Selection criteria included diagnosis as CP, use of aquatic intervention, participants aged until 18 years, use of validated outcome measure, published in English, and study design as a randomized control trial/pilot study/case study.
Results. Out of 11 studies selected for this review, 6 of them were randomized control trials, 2 were quasi experimental studies, 2 were comparative studies and one was case series. Aquatic exercises, Halliwick concept, Watsu and water immersion therapy, swimming exercises were used as aquatic interventions in the studies. Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) was the most commonly used tool for recording motor functions. About 64% of studies showed that aquatic interventions can provide significantly beneficial effects on motor functions of children with CP when compared to conventional therapy or no intervention.
Conclusions. Aquatic therapy provides beneficial effects on motor functions in children with cerebral palsy.
Keywords: cerebral palsy, aquatic therapy, aquatic exercises, swimming program, motor functions.
Aim
This study aimed to compare gross motor function between aquatic‐ and land‐based exercises in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP).
Methods
The authors conducted an electronic search of nine databases from their inception to 21 November 2024 (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020194121). Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials involving aquatic‐based exercises for children and adolescents with CP, assessing gross motor function using standardized scales or tests. Three authors independently extracted data using a predetermined Excel form. The risk of bias was assessed with the PEDro scale. The body of evidence was synthesized using the GRADE approach. Meta‐analysis was conducted using the Revman 5.3 program.
Results
A total of 369 children aged 2–18 years from 15 studies were included. Most participants were ambulatory and classified as having spastic hemiparetic or diparetic CP. The majority of studies had a high risk of bias and small sample sizes. Aquatic‐based exercises were categorized as aquatic physical therapy, Halliwick, swimming exercises, gait training and exercises. Low‐quality evidence indicated that aquatic physical therapy resulted in higher gross motor function than land‐based exercises (SMD = 0.47, n = 93, 4 trials, I ² = 5%, p = 0.03), with a small effect size. No significant differences were found for Halliwick or swimming exercises.
Interpretation
There is low‐quality evidence, because of high risk of bias, imprecision and inconsistency, suggesting that aquatic‐based exercises are comparable with land‐based exercises. Future research should focus on well‐designed interventions with adequate sample sizes to compare the combination of aquatic‐ and land‐based therapies with land‐based therapy alone.
