Effects of water-based exercises on functioning of postmenopausal women: A systematic review with meta-analysis

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of Water-Based Exercise (WBE) versus Land-Based Exercise (LBE) and of WBE versus Non-Exercise in postmenopausal women on muscle strength, agility, flexibility, bone mineral density and aerobic capacity.

We systematically searched in MEDLINE, PEDro, SciELO and the Cochrane Library RCT published until May 2022. Only randomized controlled trials were included. We analyzed the pooled results using weighted mean differences, standardized mean difference, and 95%CI were calculated.

Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria; although, sixteen studies were included in the meta-analyses. The studies presented low methodological quality. WBE was more effective than NE for improving muscle strength of knee extension (3.34), knee flexion (2.51), arm curl (6.78 repetitions), VO2Max (4.12 ml/kg), and flexibility (6.38 cm) When comparing WBE with LBE, no significant statistical difference was found regarding muscular strength of lower limbs (1.00), muscular strength of upper limbs (0.47), flexibility (1.95 cm), aerobic capacity (0.82 ml/kg) and lumbar bone mineral density (0.04 g/cm²).

WBE promotes significant benefits in muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and flexibility, when compared to no intervention. However, WBE was similar to the LBE for improving muscle strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, agility, and bone mineral density - lumbar in postmenopausal women.