Comparison therapeutic efficacy of underwater and overground walking training on the healthy subjects balancing ability.
Si-A Lee, Myoung-Kwon Kim
PMID 28603373WHAT IT FOUND
Four weeks of underwater treadmill walking was reported to improve standing balance more than overground treadmill walking in healthy adults.
The underwater group had better sway and balance scores, but the study did not test patients or describe randomization.
Key findings
01The paper reported significant post-training changes in the underwater group for medial-lateral locus length, anterior-posterior locus length and balance function score.
02The paper reported significant intergroup differences in post-training gains for all balance variables.
03In the underwater group, post-test values were 120.1 mm/s for medial-lateral locus length, 175.2 mm/s for anterior-posterior locus length, and 82.2 for balance function score; lower sway locus length and higher balance function score indicate better balance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The paper does not describe randomization, allocation concealment or assessor blinding, so the groups may have differed before training. The participants were healthy subjects with no history of lower-limb orthopedic surgery, neurologic drug use or musculoskeletal disease, so the study does not show effects in patients with neurologic or musculoskeletal conditions. The paper reports several balance variables and does not state a single primary outcome, so the evidence for any one measure is limited. The balance test was quiet standing with eyes open, not walking or functional mobility. The text says subjects completed the experiment but does not describe dropouts or how incomplete data were handled.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that underwater treadmill walking is proven to improve balance in patients. The study was done in healthy subjects, did not describe randomization or blinding, and did not test people with neurologic or musculoskeletal conditions.