Research on Aquatic Exercise

The Benefits of Aquatic Exercise –

Links to abstracts from a few studies.

Motion Analysis of  Aquatic Running vs. Treadmill Running—Research at the Univ. of Michigan to analyze the quantitative differences between running on land and running in water. They found the range of motion and ankle and knee joint angular velocities were greater during aquatic running compared to treadmill running. ...This is advantageous for an injured runner who has been restricted from running on land and desires to maintain "cardiovascular fitness and flexibility...by non-weight-bearing alternative exercises"

Walking Under Water for Cerebral Palsy– Study underway at Middle Tennessee State University for children with Cerebral Palsy under the direction of Dr. Don Morgan.

A Pilot Study on the Effects of Aquatic Exercises on Discomforts of Pregnancy– Sheila A. Smith, RN, PhD, CNS, FACCE and Yvonne Michel, PhD found that women who had participated in the aquatic exercise program reported significantly less physical discomfort, improved mobility, and improved body image and health-promoting behaviors as compared to control subjects.

Clinicians' Perceptions of the Benefits of Aquatic Therapy for Young Children with Autism-A study from the Journal for  Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics reports a substantial increase in swim skills, attention, muscle strength, balance, tolerating touch, initiating/maintaining eye contact, and water safety for children with Autism..

'Underwater' Treadmill Great for Exercisers with Total Hip Replacements-Check this link to the Sports Injury Bulletin….”individuals who undergo cemented THR surgery should begin exercising on an underwater treadmill, if possible, about four weeks after the operation is completed. Such exercise should improve hip-abduction strength and improve gait stability during the critical rehabilitation period following surgery.”

Cardiorespiratory responses to underwater treadmill walking in healthy females.– This study from a European journal reviewed the effects of exercise on healthy women “...walking in chest-deep water yields higher energy costs than walking at similar speeds on land….These ...changes occurred despite a slower cadence in water.

AQUATIC GAIT TRAINING: USING UNDERWATER TREADMILL FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES.– Research by Taeyou Jung at California State University, Northridge observing gait parameters of subjects with disabilities from stroke.

Aquatic Exercise programs for individuals with Arthritis-– In a study by Dr. Rory Suomi, PED at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point- “study participants with lower extremity arthritis demonstrated significant improvements on isometric measures of hip abduction and an improvement on a functional test of balance following an eight-week aquatic intervention. In addition to improved performance on these and several other functional physical fitness tests, the subjects also self-reported significant improvement in their perceived ability to perform specific tasks of daily living and a significant reduction in pain while doing so.”

Peak Cardiorespiratory Responses during Aquatic and Land Treadmill Exercise “Results: V.E and f were significantly greater in ATM versus TM; however, V.O2, HR, VT, RER, LA, RPE, speed, and exercise times were similar for both protocols.

Conclusions: Despite differences in V.E and f, it seems that the fluid resistance created by water and jets in an ATM elicits peak CR responses comparable with those seen with inclined TM. These findings suggest that ATM running may be as effective as TM running for aerobic conditioning in fit individuals.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 39(6):969-975, June 2007.SILVERS, W. MATTHEW; RUTLEDGE, ERIN R.; DOLNY, DENNIS G

Physiological and perceptual responses to backward and forward treadmill walking in water  “These results indicate that walking backward in water elicits higher physiological and perceptual responses than those produced when walking forward in water at the same speed.” From the journal-Gait and Posture—Feb. 2009– Masumoto, et al  

A comparison of muscle activity and heart rate response during backward and forward walking on an underwater treadmill.  “...walking backward in water resulted in significantly greater muscle activation of the paraspinal muscles, vastus medialis and tibialis anterior compared with walking forward in water. These findings may be helpful in developing water-based exercise programs.” From the journal-Gait and Posture—Feb. 2007– Masumoto, et al  

Physiological responses and RPE during underwater treadmill walking in women of middle and advanced age. From The Journal of Physiological Anthropology and Applied Human Science. “These results suggested that HR and RPE can be effective indices for exercise prescription during Flowmill walking as with land walking.”

Comparative efficacy of water and land treadmill training for overweight or obese adults

“UTM (underwater) and LTM (Land) training are equally capable of improving aerobic fitness and body composition in physically inactive overweight individuals, but UTM(underwater) training may induce increases in LBM (Lean Body Mass)” From the journal-Medicine and science in sports and exercise—Sept. 2009– Green, et al  

The influence of applying additional weight to the affected leg on gait patterns during aquatic treadmill walking in people poststroke. ”The use of applied weight on the affected limb can reduce unwanted limb flotation on the paretic side during aquatic treadmill walking. It can also assist the stance stability by increasing the stance phase percentage closer to 60% of gait cycle. Both findings can contribute to the development of more efficient motor patterns in gait training for people poststroke. The use of a cuff weight does not seem to reduce the limb circumduction during aquatic treadmill walking.”From the Journal-Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation– Jan.2010- Taeyou Jung, et al.

IS BLOOD LACTATE REMOVAL DURING WATER IMMERSED CYCLING FASTER THAN DURING CYCLING ON LAND?“...we may conclude that active recovery using cycling in water immersion may be more efficient than cycling on land for blood lactate removal.”From the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine-Fabrízio Di Masi, et al.