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Effects of different frequencies (2-3 days/week) of aquatic therapy program in adults with chronic low back pain. A
Pedro Angel Baena-Beato1, Manuel Arroyo-Morales, Manuel Delgado-Fernández
1Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. pabaenabeato@ugr.es
Objective:
To study the effects of an aquatic therapy program with different frequencies (2 vs 3 days per week) in chronic low back pain.
Design:
[corrected] Non-randomized comparison trial.
Setting:
Sport and spa community health club.
Subjects:
Fifty-four adults with chronic low back pain (48.9 ± 10.0 years).
Intervention:
Eight-week aquatic therapy program.
Outcome Measures:
Pain (visual analog scale [VAS]), disability (Oswestry Disability Index), and quality of life (Short-Form Health Survey 36), body composition (weight, body mass index, body fat mass, body fat percentage, and skeletal muscle mass), and health-related fitness (sit and reach, handgrip strength, curl-up, Rockport 1-mile test).
Results:
Both experimental groups presented significant improvements in low back pain and disability (P < 0.001) compared with control group. The 3 days/week group showed significantly greater benefits at VAS flexion and disability (P < 0.001) than the 2 days/week group. Regarding quality of life, both intervention groups presented significant differences for Physical Role (P < 0.05), Bodily Pain (P < 0.001), General Health (P = 0.012), and Standardized Physical Component (P < 0.001) compared with control group. Both experimental groups significantly improved all health-related fitness parameters (P < 0.01). The 3 days/week group showed significantly greater benefits at curl-up and heart rate (P < 0.001) than the 2 days/week group. No significant changes between treatment groups and control were found in body composition.
Conclusions:
Eight weeks of aquatic therapy program decrease levels of back pain and disability, increase quality of life, and improve health-related fitness in adults with chronic low back pain without effects in body composition. A dose-response effect was observed in some parameters, with greater benefits when exercising 3 days per week compared with 2 days.
