1Department of Motor Behaviour, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2Department of Motor Behaviour, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran , Tehran , Iran
چکیده
Introduction: Balance is a key component of movement for daily activities, especially in older adults . Aquatic therapy is safe and may improve balance with little risk of injury and a reduced risk of falling during activities of daily living . Previous studies examining aquatic therapy as an effective way for improving balance have yielded inconsistent findings . The current systematic review and meta-analysis will investigate the effectiveness of aquatic therapy on balance among older adults .
Methods: Sources include Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials , Medline , ISI Web of Knowledge , EBSCO, Embase , Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Scopus. Randomized controlled or cross-over trials published by Feb 2020 were included following pre-determined search and selection criteria . Data extraction was performed by two researchers independently using a pre-determined data extraction form . Methodological quality was assessed by two reviewers using the PEDro scale which was used to rate trials according to criteria such as concealed allocation, blinding and intention-to-treat analysis. Furthermore , meta-analysis was conducted where possible . This review was registered at PROSPERO CRD42018118382 .
Results: Fifteen trials with 385 participants were included. Results showed that aquatic therapy had a significant effect on dynamic balance (SMD, -1.13; 95% CI, {-1.45- (-0.82)}; I2=77%). The analysis indicated that aquatic therapy improved balance ability compared to controls .
Conclusion: Aquatic therapy has a positive impact on dynamic balance in older adults. However , further high quality and appropriately powered studies are required to confirm this assertion .
