The Effects on Muscle Strength and Visual Analog Scale Pain of Aquatic Therapy for individuals with Low Back Pain

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ten weeks of aquatic therapy exercise would increase low back muscle strength and reduce low back pain in 19 elderly subjects. SUBJECTS: Nineteen low back disorder patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: an aquatic therapy exercise group (n=9), and a control group (n=10). METHODS: The aquatic therapy group participated five times a week for ten weeks in an aquatic exercise designed to strengthen the low back muscles. Data collection was done using a Cybex-770 system. RESULTS: The results show that the aquatic exercise significantly reduced visual analog scale pain by 52.1%. Significant improvements in low back muscle strength were found in the aquatic therapy group on peak torque of flexor in 180/sec by 48.31% and on peak torque of extensor in 180/sec by 152.85% . CONCLUSION: Based on the results, we conclude that the ten weeks of aquatic therapy exercise can enhance low back muscle strength and reduce low back pain in elderly women.