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Therapeutic aquatic exercise in the treatment of low back pain: a systematic review

University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Johan Lambeck

Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Daniel Daly

Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, daniel.daly{at}faber.kuleuven.be

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of therapeutic aquatic exercise in the treatment of low back pain.

Design: A systematic review.

Methods: A search was performed of PEDro, CINAHL (ovid), PUBMED, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and SPORTDiscus databases to identify relevant studies published between 1990 and 2007. Population: Adults suffering from low back pain. Intervention: All types of therapeutic aquatic exercise. Comparison: All clinical trials using a control group. Outcomes: Oswestry Disability Index, McGill Pain Questionnaire, subjective assessment scale for pain (e.g. visual analogue scale) and number of work days lost as a direct result of low back pain. Methodological quality was assessed using the PEDro scale and the SIGN 50 assessment forms.

Results: Thirty-seven trials were found and seven were accepted into the review. Therapeutic aquatic exercise appeared to have a beneficial effect, however, no better than other interventions. Methodological quality was considered low in all included studies. The heterogeneity among studies, in numbers of subjects, symptoms durations, interventions and reporting of outcomes, precluded any extensive meta-analysis of the results.

Conclusion: There was sufficient evidence to suggest that therapeutic aquatic exercise is potentially beneficial to patients suffering from chronic low back pain and pregnancy-related low back pain. There is further need for high-quality trials to substantiate the use of therapeutic aquatic exercise in a clinical setting.

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Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 23, No. 1, 3-14 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0269215508097856


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Waller, B. Articles by Daly, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Waller, B. Articles by Daly, D. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information High Risk Pregnancy Social Bookmarking                         What's this?