Effects of an 8-Week Aquatic Exercise Training on Balance in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common central nervous system damaging diseases which mainly affects the elderly. The variety of disorders and complications associated with the disease puts the patients in so much trouble. Some of these problems include difficulty in walking and taking steps, veer, displacement, imbalance, and bent posture. Such problems have a negative effect on patient's daily functions like sitting and getting up, dressing, and personal hygiene. The purpose of this study was to survey the effects of an exercise training program in water on balance among patients with Parkinson's disease. The present quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical society included all Parkinson's disease patients who had referred to neurologists in Isfahan, Iran. A total number of 20 female patients were purposefully and voluntarily selected and randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups (n = 10 in each group). Subjects in the experimental group performed three 60-minute sessions of aquatic exercise therapy per week for 8 weeks. During the same period, the control group only received medications and was followed up. In the beginning and at the end of the period, the patient's balance was assessed by Berg balance score. Data was analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05. In this study, balance scores of the experimental group significantly improved after the exercise period (P ≤ 0.05). However, there was no significant change in the control group (P ≥ 0.05). In addition, after 8 weeks of aquatic exercise training, balance scores of the experimental group showed a significant increase compared to the control group (P ≤ 0.05). The results showed that exercise therapy in water can be used as a useful and effective method to improve balance and in turn daily functioning of Parkinson's disease patients.