Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Immersion and Watsu® therapy protocols on children with cerebral palsy. Gross motor function (GMF), spasticity (MAS), and Quality of Life (QoL) parameters of twenty-three children (age: 7.5±2.8, BMI: 17±3.7) were measured. Subjects received Watsu® therapy and Immersion protocols in Watsu-Immersion (W-I, n=12) and Immersion-Watsu (I-W n=11) groups in different periods based on a crossover design. The subjects received sessions for 30 minutes twice a week during 10-week experimental periods. The results were investigated with independent sample t-test and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, which showed that there was no evidence of carryover effects in GMFM 88 and QoL. In contrast, Watsu® improved GMFM 88 (p<0.05), Quality of Life (p<0.05), and MAS-Upper spasticity (p<0.05), scores significantly compared to immersion. The current results demonstrated the specific benefits of Watsu® therapy on children with CP, confirming the previous anecdotal reports. We recommend Watsu® as a safe and well-accepted complementary intervention for the management of CP.
Highlights
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of childhood-onset, lifelong motor disability with the prevalence rate of about 2.1 per 1,000 live births in developed countries
The initial evidence for the effect of Watsu on GMFM 88, Quality of Life (QoL) and MAS indices were provided by this current study (Table 3, 4, 5), in line with previous studies suggesting the benefits of aquatic therapies on various areas of functioning (Roostaei et al, 2017; Lai et al, 2014)
The current study provides initial evidence in favour of Watsu over immersion and suggests it as a complementary method to improve motor functions, QoL and spasticity in CP
Summary
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of childhood-onset, lifelong motor disability with the prevalence rate of about 2.1 per 1,000 live births in developed countries. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that 1 in 321 children had been classified with CP, and it is found to be more common in boys than in girls (CDC, 2018). As a result of non-progressive brain lesions, developmental neuromuscular and musculoskeletal disorders in CP are the result of neural impairments deteriorating the homeostat-. Received: 8 April 2020 | Accepted after revision: 8 November 2020 | First published online: 1 September 2021
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