Effect of aquatic therapy v/s relaxation therapy in chronic low back pain

Abstract

Low back pain is a commonest condition in today's world. There are varieties of treatments used in management of low back pain. Among them, aquatic exercises are given because of unique properties of Water. By utilizing unique properties of water like buoyancy, resistance, flow and turbulence, exercise program is made. Buoyancy gives weightlessness which allows greater range of movement in the joint. Aquatic therapy decreases axial loading of the spine and buoyancy helps in the movement of the spine. Second is relaxation therapy. Relaxation reduces the pain and muscle tension. Relaxation reduces the blood pressure, cools down the body parts and helps the muscles to relax which improves quality of life. Progressive relaxation training has been widely used for chronic pain syndrome, with the rationale that learning to reduce the anxiety and muscle tension.

Aquatic Exercise Impact on Pain Intensity, Disability and Quality of Life in Adults with Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…After removing duplicates ( n = 20), the remaining studies were reviewed according to the title and the abstract, and then 807 studies were removed, leaving 29 full-text articles. Fifteen other studies were omitted because of the following reasons: (a) no control group (Bello et al, 2010; Cuesta-Vargas et al, 2011; Kanitz et al, 2021; Pires et al, 2015; Rezai et al, 2020); (b) lack of access to data (Johnson et al, 2016; McIlveen & Robertson, 1998); (c) study with a different population (Granath et al, 2006); and (d) studies with an active control group (Carvalho et al, 2020; Costantino & Romiti, 2014; Dundar et al, 2009; Peng et al, 2022; Prabhu & Dadmi, 2019; Ragia et al, 2021; Yozbatiran et al, 2004). Fourteen studies (Alikhajeh et al, 2020; Ansari et al, 2021; Baena-Beato et al, 2013, 2014; Cuesta-Vargas et al, 2012b; Han et al, 2011; Hossein Abadi et al, 2019b; Irandoust & Taheri, 2015; Janyacharoen et al, 2012; Keane, 2017; Khodaveisi et al, 2018; Mirmoezzi et al, 2021; Najafi Ghagholestani et al, 2022; Taheri & Irandoust, 2014) met our inclusion criteria and were entered in the meta-analysis (Table 1 and PRISMA flow diagram, shown in Figure 1).…”