The effect of eight weeks of aquatic therapy program on the balance of children with spastic diplegia

cerebral palsy is the most common motor disorder in children and it causes movement and balance disorders. Aquatic therapy in controlled pool is an integral part of rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of eight weeks of aquatic therapy on the balance of children with spastic cerebral palsy.The present study was semi-experimental. Ten children with spastic dipelgia cerebral palsy were randomly divided into two groups: aquatic therapy group(۱۰.۵ ± ۲.۹ years, height ۱۳.۶ ± ۱۷.۶ cm, weight ۳۲.۸ ± ۱۳.۷ kg), and control group (Age ۱۰.۵ ± ۳.۳, height ۱۳.۶ ± ۱۴.۳ cm and weight ۳۲.۷ ± ۱۴.۳ kg). The control group performed their usual physiotherapy exercises, while the aquatic therapy group in addition to their usual physiotherapy practice, did the specific exercises related to aquatic therapy under supervision of an expert trainer, for ۸ weeks, ۳ sessions per week, each session aboat ۴۵ minutes. Balance of children was assessed using the Berg scale. The data was collected at the beginning and end of the ۸ weeks.Data was analyzed using SPSS software (۲۵ version), ANCOVA and Repeated Measure. The results of the study showed that the balance in the aquatic therapy group had significantly different than the control group.Aquatic therapy is not only a safe and low-risk exercise but it is also fun and enjoyable for children while it can be considered as a useful method for the rehabilitation of spastic cerebral palsy

کلیدواژه ها:

Cerebral palsy ، Balance ، Aquatic therapy