No abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to verify the influence of training intensity in the aquatic environment on pain, disability, physical capacity, and quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain. Design/Setting: A randomized clinical trial. Subjects: Twenty-two patients with chronic low back pain of both sexes (13 women and 9 men) participated in the study. Material and method: One group performed deep-water walking/running training at moderate intensity (MIT) and a second group performed deep-water walking/running training at high intensity (HIT). Pain, disability, peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), and quality of life were assessed before and after an intervention. Results: Decreases in pain and disability were observed within both groups, without differences in these parameters between training groups. VO2peak did not change in either group after the training intervention. The results of the HIT group showed more significant improvements in quality of life than that of the MIT group, highlighting the social domain, psychological domain, and general quality of life. Both groups presented significant improvements in the physical and environmental domains of quality of life. Conclusions: Deep-water aerobic exercise training seems to be effective for improving pain symptoms and reducing the disability of people with chronic low back pain. These improvements seem to be independent of the intensity at which the training is performed. In addition, improving pain and disability does not directly reflect all areas of quality of life. In this case, the group that performed the intervention at high intensity achieved more significant improvements in quality of life.