Benefits of aquatic therapy on motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective: To determine the positive effect of aquatic therapy in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's Disease. Methods: Narrative review studybased on bibliographic review of EBSCOhost, Pubmed, Medline and PeDro data base with evidence from 2017 to 2023; taking inclusion criteria related to diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson disease with interventions that compared aquatic therapy with conventional physical therapy, a combination of both compared with land exercises and those that compared aquatic therapy with another aquatic modality. Of the 90 scientific articles identified in the search, 30 studies were eligible, the results of which provided evidence on the effects of aquatic therapy. Results: The motor symptoms that benefit from Aquatic Therapy in aspects such as balance, gait and motor status. As for non-motor, self-perception in quality of life, sleep and pain benefits. Freezing of Gait is improved with the use of obstacles in the water. Interventions include specific multimodal balance exercises, dual tasks, Ai Chi, Halliwick method, multicomponent aquatic training, intensive multidisciplinary motor-cognitive rehabilitation treatment with Aquatic Therapy and gait training in water. The advantages found are related to balance, decreased fear of falls, better stability of the trunk with strengthening of the lower limbs and reduction in muscle tone reflecting improvements in walking. Conclusions: Aquatic therapy turns out to be feasible and safe as an adjunct to conventional physical therapy on balance, gait, motor status and quality of life, proving to be an efficient, easy and pleasant resource with low economic cost and high adherence.