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. 2021 Sep 1;67(3):315-321.
doi: 10.5606/tftrd.2020.5437. eCollection 2021 Sep.

The effect of aquatic training on static and semi-dynamic balance of patients with chronic ischemic stroke: A randomized clinical trial

Alireza Vakilian  1 , Hossein Babaeipour  2 , Mansour Sahebozamani  3 , Fariborz Mohammadipour  4
Affiliations

The effect of aquatic training on static and semi-dynamic balance of patients with chronic ischemic stroke: A randomized clinical trial

Alireza Vakilian et al. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effect of six-week aquatic exercise on the static and semi-dynamic balance of male patients with chronic ischemic stroke (CIS).

Patients and methods: This randomized clinical trial (RCT) included a total of 36 male CIS patients (mean age 60.2±6.7 years; range, 40 to 70 years) between January 2015 and January 2017. The patients were randomly divided into three groups consisting of 12 patients in each group: (i) exercising in shallow water, (ii) exercising in deep water, and (iii) control group. Training sessions were held three days a week for six weeks, and the control group did not participate in these sessions. The balance of the patients was checked using the Biodex balance system in two stages.

Results: There was no significant difference between the two intervention groups (shallow and deep) in terms of the balance assessment post-test (p>0.05), yet there was a statistically significant difference between the two intervention groups (shallow and deep) with the control group in terms of the semi-dynamic balance (total) score, (p<0.05); the semi-dynamic balance (total) of the two intervention groups (shallow and deep) was higher than that of the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Our study results indicate that exercise in both depths is a suitable solution to improve balance, particularly semi-dynamic balance (total) in male CIS patients. Accordingly, aquatic training has a positive effect on balance in male stroke patients and we can prescribe this protocol as a useful remedy for these patients.

Keywords: Aquatic training; chronic ischemic stroke; semi-dynamic balance; static balance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Study flowchart
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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