Underwater treadmill training and gait ability in the normal adult.
Myoung-Kwon Kim, Si-A Lee
PMID 28210041WHAT IT FOUND
Underwater treadmill training increased step length, velocity, and cadence in healthy young men.
The study lacked a control group and followed only 20 participants, so it cannot confirm whether this method improves gait ability or outperforms standard training.
Key findings
01Step length, velocity, and cadence increased significantly after the intervention.
02The study was limited by a small sample size, lack of follow-up testing, and no control for other joint effects.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study had no control group, so it is impossible to know if the improvements were due to the underwater environment, the treadmill training itself, or simple practice effects. The sample was small (n=20) and consisted only of healthy young men, limiting generalisability to clinical populations or older adults. There was no follow-up testing to determine if the gait improvements persisted after the training ended. The authors noted they did not constrain or account for the effects of other joints during the analysis.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the significant improvements in step length and velocity as proof that underwater treadmill training is better than standard gait therapy. The study had no control group and tested only healthy young men, so the observed changes could reflect normal practice effects rather than a specific benefit of the water environment.