Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department. of Sport injuries and corrective Exercises, Faculty of Sport SCiences,Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran.
2 Professor, Department. of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ardakan University, Ardakan, Iran.
4 Associate Professor, Department. of Neurology and Non Communicable Diseases Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, , Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
Abstract
Abstract
Background and Aim: Aquatic training has been recognized as an effective rehabilitation approach for improving motor function in stroke patients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of aquatic training at different depths on lower limb muscle strength and balance in males patients with chronic ischemic stroke. Materila and Meyhods:: In the present study, 36 men (aged 56 to 70 years) with chronic ischemic stroke were randomly assigned to two experimental groups—shallow-water exercise and deep-water exercise—and one control group. The training sessions for the two experimental groups consisted of six weeks of aquatic exercise, with three 60‑minute sessions per week. No intervention was performed for the control group. Balance was assessed using the Berg Balance Scale, and lower‑limb muscle strength was evaluated with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. A mixed‑design (between‑within subjects) ANOVA was conducted to test the hypotheses, followed by Bonferroni post‑hoc tests. Results: A significant time × group interaction was found for both balance (P = .0001) and muscle strength (P = .0001). In addition, there were significant main effects of group (muscle strength: P = .0001; balance: P = .005) and time (muscle strength: P = .0001; balance: P = .0001). Post‑hoc analyses indicated that both experimental groups showed significant improvements in balance (P = .005) and muscle strength (P = .001) compared to the control group. In addition, the correlation test showed that both experimental groups showed significant increases in balance (P=0.003) and muscle strength (P=0.015) after the intervention, while no significant changes were observed in the control group for any of the variables (P=0.075). Conclusion: Lower‑limb balance and muscle strength in patients with chronic ischemic stroke increased significantly following aquatic exercise at both shallow and deep depths, but no significant differences were observed between the depth conditions. These findings suggest that aquatic exercise may serve as an effective and safe rehabilitation strategy for stroke survivors.
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