Effects of aquatic therapy on gait and balance in patients with brain vascular accident: a literature review

Abstract

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and physical disabilities in Brazil and worldwide. Being caused by an interruption of vascular cerebral flow, it is able to lead the individual to death or generate functional disabilities. Aquatic physiotherapy has shown great results for the rehabilitation of these patients, which is provided by the physical properties of water, which are able to provide pain relief and muscle relaxation, thus facilitating ambulation. Thus, this study aimed to review published articles in order to report the effects of hydrotherapy as a physical therapy resource on gait and the balance of stroke patients. For this, a review of articles was performed in the electronic databases PubMed and PEDro and eight articles were chosen, after considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results showed that this physical therapy resource provides benefits in functional aspects, gait quality, speed, and static and dynamic balance. Also, the bibliographic research allowed observing that the technique has effects when used to replace or add to conventional methods of soil therapy. Given the good results obtained, it appears that the technique can be used to treat a patient with a stroke.