Effects of aquatic exercise on depression and anxiety in ischemic stroke subjects

Abstract

Background: Stroke ranks third and is the leading cause of permanent disability in western countries. Furthermore there are no treatments for the psychosocial effects of this pathology. Purpose: Analyse the effect of an aquatic exercise program in depression and trace and state anxiety in subjects who suffered an ischemic stroke. Methods: Two groups were analyzed: experimental group (EG) n = 15, 50.3 ± 9.1 years; control group (CG) n = 13, 52.5 ± 7.7 years. EG underwent a 12-week aquatic exercise program. Both groups were evaluated in pre-and posttreatment using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Trace State Anxiety Inventory (IDATE). Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare moments and groups, respectively. Results: The BDI scores of aquatic activities were: pre-treatment, 17.4 ± 7.7 and 16.9 ± 8.6 for the EG and CG, respectively; post-treatment, 13.2 + 7.1 and 16.4 + 7.9 for the EG and CG, respectively. The IDATE scores for anxiety trace in strength training were: pre-treatment, 43.2 + 12.5 and 42.9 + 12.2 for the EG and CG, respectively; post-treatment, 39.7 + 7.1 and 42.6 + 12.1 for the EG and CG, respectively. The IDATE scores for anxiety state in strength training were: pre-treatment, 46.9 + 7.6 and 47.4 + 8.1 for the EG and CG, respectively; post-treatment, 44.4 + 7.9 and 47.5 + 8.0 for the EG and CG, respectively. Significant differences were found in pre and post-treatment values in the EG and between groups in the depression and trace and state anxiety levels in post-treatment (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Aquatic physical activity contributes to an improvement of the levels of depression and anxiety in people who suffered a stroke.

Living with cardiovascular disease (CVD): Exploring the biggest challenges for people affected by CVD in the UK, and their use (or not) of online resources

“…There is evidence that exercise improves psychological symptoms associated with poor health-related quality of life. 19 Nevertheless, some patients avoid exercise following a cardiac-related diagnosis or event 7 due to uncertainty about safety and appropriateness and lack of support. 4,35 This was echoed in our study; a number of respondents noted that although they were eager to do physical activity, with limited personalised guidance they were afraid they may push themselves too far, restricting the amount of exercise they were mentally comfortable doing.…”

“…This could mitigate some of the mental health challenges people face, as studies have shown the interplay between physical activity and mental wellbeing. 19,42 There have been encouraging developments in this area since we conducted our study, with the NHS Long Term Plan prioritising cardiac rehabilitation, 38 particularly for patients with heart failure and heart valve disease. 43 However, our results indicate that for this to be impactful, people need personalised guidance about the type and amount of exercise that is appropriate for them.…”

“…11 Self-care is difficult for people with heart failure, 12,13 congenital heart disease, 14,15 and psychological impacts and loneliness affect people who suffered acute events 16 and stroke. 17 The psychological needs of people affected by ischaemic heart Patient Experience Journal, Volume 7, Issue 3 -2020 disease 18 and ischaemic stroke, 19 and social support requirements for people affected by coronary heart disease have been investigated. 20 There are examples of literature discussing several conditions, but with a particular focus, for example stress, 21 self-care, 22 or seeking to derive educational intervention.…”

The Use of Cuff Weights for Aquatic Gait Training in People Post‐Stroke with Hemiparesis

“…Aquatic therapy may provide an ideal environment for gait training and other rehabilitative exercises in people post-stroke. The effectiveness of aquatic interventions is well established in the elderly population (Barela et al, 2006, Barela andDuarte, 2008) as well as people post-stroke (Chu et al, 2004, Noh et al, 2008, Aidar et al, 2013. The previous studies have reported that aquatic therapy improved walking speed, paretic lower extremity strength and even psychological measures such as depression and anxiety.…”

The Effect of Water-Based Aerobic Training on the Dynamic Balance and Walking Speed of Obese Elderly Men with Low Back Pain

“…Iwamoto et al (2009) found that exercise and physical activity improved balance, flexibility, muscle strength and walking ability in older people (Iwamoto et al, 2009). Water-based training is also one of the methods that has been taken into consideration by sports and rehabilitation specialists in recent years (Aidar et al, 2013).This exercise is a series of specialized exercises that involve the body and the brain in a way that it affects power, endurance, and flexibility. Due to the presence of features such as hydrostatic pressure, floatation and deep sense of sensation, water environment can be an ideal environment for physical exercises (Shiri, Karppinen, Leino-Arjas, Solovieva, & Viikari-Juntura, 2009).…”