the aquatic therapist

Comparison of maximal and spontaneous speeds during walking on dry land and water

Ever wondered how walking in water compared to walking on land? Read on...

Chevutschi A, Alberty M, Lensel G, Pardessus V, Thevenon A. Comparison of maximal and spontaneous speeds during walking on dry land and water. Gait Posture. 2009 Apr;29(3):403-7. Epub 2008 Dec 10.

LEMH, Université de Lille, Ronchin, France. achevutschi@univ-lille2.fr

The aim of this study was to quantify spontaneous and maximal speeds on dry land and in water, in four modalities of walking [forward (F), backward (B) and lateral walking (L)], with chest immersion level.

Lateral walking was studied with the upper limbs of the subject alongside the body with hands placed on the lateral face of the thighs (L1) and upper limbs tightened behind the back with the hands joined (L2). 16 males (age 22.8+/-1.8 years, height 178.1+/-6.1cm, body mass 73.5+/-6.6 kg) and 15 females (age 22.8+/-2.1 years, height 171.5+/-5.8 cm, body mass 69.2+/-9.3 kg) were evaluated using the four modalities of walking on dry land and in water.

The speed increments between spontaneous and maximal speeds on dry land for F, B and L1 and L2 were 60.2%, 60.9%, 64.3% and 65.3% for males and 47.3%, 48.3%, 44.5% and 53.1% for females.

In the water, these variation values for F, B, L1 and L2 for males were 44.6%, 26.1%, 48.8%, and 42.1%. The values for females were 31.7%, 21.6%, 32.8%, and 34.6%.

Spontaneous and maximal speeds of walking were substantially reduced in water with the chest immersed, compared to speeds on dry land for the four modalities and the two genders.

These findings may be used by therapists who utilize the various modalities of walking in aquatherapy.

Aquatic therapy (including Ai Chi and Halliwick) improves balance and fitness in CVA patients

So, you learned Ai Chi flows and Halliwick techniques at a recent aquatic therapy seminar. But do these aquatic "specialty techniques" really work in the therapy world? Or are they all hype?

A research team out of Korea wanted to compare the results of therapy (land versus water) on chronic stroke patients. They chose to provide Ai Chi and Halliwick as their water-based intervention. How did these techniques fare? Read on to find out...
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Noh DK, Lim JY, Shin HI, Paik NJ. The effect of aquatic therapy on postural balance and muscle strength in stroke survivors--a randomized controlled pilot trial. Clin Rehabil. 2008;   Oct-Nov;22(10-11):966-76.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of an aquatic therapy programme designed to increase balance in stroke survivors.

DESIGN: A randomized, controlled pilot trial.

SETTING: Rehabilitation department of a university hospital.

SUBJECTS: Ambulatory chronic stroke patients (n = 25):13 in an aquatic therapy group and 12 in a conventional therapy group.

INTERVENTIONS: The aquatic therapy group participated in a programme consisting of Ai Chi and Halliwick methods, which focused on balance and weight-bearing exercises. The conventional therapy group performed gym exercises. In both groups, the interventions occurred for 1 hour, three times per week, for eight weeks.

MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome measures were Berg Balance Scale score and weight-bearing ability, as measured by vertical ground reaction force during four standing tasks (rising from a chair and weight-shifting forward, backward and laterally). Secondary measures were muscle strength and gait.

RESULTS: Compared with the conventional therapy group, the aquatic therapy group attained significant improvements in Berg Balance Scale scores, forward and backward weight-bearing abilities of the affected limbs, and knee flexor strength (P < 0.05), with effect sizes of 1.03, 1.14, 0.72 and 1.13 standard deviation units and powers of 75, 81, 70 and 26%, respectively. There were no significant changes in the other measures between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Postural balance and knee flexor strength were improved after aquatic therapy based on the Halliwick and Ai Chi methods in stroke survivors. Because of limited power and a small population base, further studies with larger sample sizes are required.

Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.

Aquatic exercise vs. Elastic bands for fitness. And the winner is...

 

Photos: HydroWorx and Thera-band

So which do you think would make for a better workout? Using elastic band, such as Thera-band, to work-out or jumping into the nearest pool? Inquiring minds wanted to know... so a team in Spain published their research findings last month.
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Colado JC, Triplett NT, Tella V, Saucedo P, Abellán J. Effects of aquatic resistance training on health and fitness in postmenopausal women. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009 Feb 10.

To investigate effects of 24 weeks of resistance training with aquatic resistance devices or elastic bands (EB) on markers of cardiovascular health and physical capacity. Forty-six healthy, sedentary postmenopausal women participated.

The groups were aquatic exercise (AE; n = 15), EB (n = 21), and control (n = 10).

Venous blood chemistry included cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and apolipoprotein B. Physical capacity was assessed by the sit-and-reach, knee push-up, 60-s squat, and abdominal crunch tests.

Both AE and EB, respectively, showed a significant (P </= 0.05) decrease in body fat (14.56, 11.97%) and diastolic blood pressure (8.03, 5.88%), and a significant increase in fat-free mass (2.88, 1.22%), sit-and-reach (27.94, 44.2%), knee push-ups (84.74, 51.59%), and 60-s squats (65.76, 46.04%). AE also showed a significant increase in abdominal crunches (28.11%).

CONCLUSION: Aquatic resistance training can offer significant physiological benefits in health and performance that are comparable to those obtained from EB in this population.

Questions: juan.colado@uv.es.