Aquatic therapy for spastic cerebral palsy: a scoping review

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of dysfunction syndrome. Spastic CP is the most common form of CP. As a specific treatment, aquatic therapy (AT) can improve spasticity, increase range of motion, and increase muscle strength due to its particular properties.

This article aims to review the research status of AT in patients with spastic CP.

We conducted a wide-ranging review of all existing literature on using AT to intervene with spastic CP from 10 databases from the earliest to May 2024. It follows the methodological framework for conducting a scoping review proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. The physical, physiological, and social-psychological functions were summarized and analyzed.

18 articles were included and analyzed. The gross motor ability of patients with spastic CP improved significantly after AT, and walking efficiency was improved; muscle strength showed significant improvement, enhancing the ability to perform daily activities and quality of life. Aerobic forms of exercise are a commonly used treatment for AT, and five weekly interventions are the most effective. Notably, functional improvements were correlated with child age, CP type, and gross motor function classification system grade.

AT can improve the gross motor function, cardiopulmonary function, daily living, and social communication ability of patients with spastic CP. This scoping review can be used as a starting point for future research on AT for children with spastic CP to design the most efficient exercise regimen.