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Parkinson's Disease Versus Aquatic Therapy

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Research Summary
Aquatic Therapy Versus Conventional Land-based Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease: An Open-label Pilot Study by Jamile Vivas, Pablo Arias, and Javier Cudeiro (2011)
The purpose of this study was to analyze two different physiotherapy protocols and the effects that the protocols will have on people who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The two physiotherapies that are being looked into for this study are land therapy and aquatic therapy. Vivas, Arias, and Cudeiro (2011) used this study to compare the effects of land therapy and aquatic therapy based on postural stability and self-movement. They are also using this study to provide information for further studies. The background for this study states that physiotherapy is …show more content…

Using an aquatic environment for exercises can decrease muscle tone, improve functional movement, decrease harsh spasm characteristics, and enhance postural stability. People with Parkinson’s disease are currently using aquatic therapy for treatment in a clinical setting, however, there are no studies that have delved into aquatic therapeutic effects on people with Parkinson’s disease. The methods used in this study consisted of participants, procedures, evaluations, interventions, therapeutic protocols, variables being studied, and analysis of data. The study initially evaluated 15 participants with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, but only 11 participants completed the evaluation to participate in this study. The procedure for this study consisted of a pretest for baseline results, a 4 week program with which the participants were allowed to be on medication, a post test after the 4 week program, and a second post test was done 17 days later as a follow-up evaluation. The evaluations required the participants to be off medication for at least 12 hours. The aquatic program was done in a spa and the water temperature was roughly 32 …show more content…

The researchers found that the results for the Berg Balance Scale and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale scores were different for land and aquatic therapy. Only the participants in the aquatic therapy group showed improvement in the Berg Balance Scale and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale scores, therefore, the land therapy group did not show critical changes to their scale scores. However, there are some variables that were also unaffected after participating in the 4 week program from both land and aquatic therapy groups. The results showed that there wasn’t a significant change in gait velocity, step amplitude, turn time, cadence, and the duration to complete the timed up and go

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