Aquatic Therapy Linked With Higher Physical Endurance
Aquatic
workouts may trump land-based exercise for people with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), says an article by Reuters Health based on a study published in European Respiratory Journal.
For
their investigation, Australian researchers randomly assigned 53 participants
to workouts in a hydrotherapy pool, gym-based training, or standard medical
care without exercise. The exercise programs include 3 weekly 1-hour sessions
over 2 months. Forty-five patients completed the study.
Whether
they worked out on land or in water, patients were able walk faster after the
training than when they just got usual care. But patients who exercised in the
pool reported less fatigue and developed more physical endurance than those who
trained in the gym.
On the
endurance shuttle walk test, patients who'd exercised in water outpaced the gym
trainers by 228 meters (748 feet).
"Participants
in the water-based exercise training group reported an improvement in many
functional aspects of their daily life such as improved stamina and ability to
complete tasks such as walking long distances when shopping," said lead
author Renae McNamara, PT.
There
had been some concerns that people with COPD might not tolerate the pressure
from the water on the chest. The researchers saw no drop-outs due to worsening
COPD in patients training in the pool, although they did see some in the gym
group. The authors reported that most of the participants in the study did not
have severe disease, says Reuters.