Abstract:
Objectives: Hydrotherapy treatment is a type of complementary therapy which is administered
in conjunction with other conventional modes of treatment for the treatment and rehabilitations
of cerebral palsy patients. Though it has gained increasing popularity in many countries
around the world, its application in Iran is still rare. The aim of this study was to perform an
integrative review of the extant literature in the field of hydrotherapy and its applications for
the improvement of ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) in
spastic diplegia cerebral palsy patients. The review encompassed multifactorial analysis of the
articles published between 2000 and 2016.
Methods: All related articles published in Iran as well as other countries from across the world
(during the last sixteen years) with the keywords: hydrotherapy, cerebral palsy, participation,
play, motor function, body function and body structure, were extracted from databases such
as Science direct, PEDro, CINAHL, PubMed, ProQuest, magiran. The articles thus obtained
were selected for evaluation and analysis.
Results: More than 33 papers were found from the literature search (as specified above). Of
these, 18 articles were eliminated due to unrelated materials and addressing methods other than
hydrotherapy rehabilitation. Of the remaining 15 papers that directly corresponded to the effect
of hydrotherapy on improving ICF of spastic diplegia cerebral palsy patients, 11 articles were
investigated in this review. The abstracts were evaluated first, followed by the full texts of the
11 articles that met the inclusion criteria.
Discussion: The results of the review showed that hydrotherapy when applied along with other
conventional methods of rehabilitation, exerts positive effects on all areas of ICF. Hydrotherapy
can be used in children and adolescents with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, but the exercises
chosen must be in accordance with the physical and cognitive conditions of the patients.
However, studies in some areas of ICF are limited and further studies in this field are felt.
Machine summary:
The aim of this study was to perform an integrative review of the extant literature in the field of hydrotherapy and its applications for the improvement of ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) in spastic diplegia cerebral palsy patients.
Methods: All related articles published in Iran as well as other countries from across the world (during the last sixteen years) with the keywords: hydrotherapy, cerebral palsy, participation, play, motor function, body function and body structure, were extracted from databases such as Science direct, PEDro, CINAHL, PubMed, ProQuest, magiran.
All articles related to the effects of hydrotherapy on patients with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy were in- vestigated in following Iranian and foreign databases: OTDBASE Occupational Therapy Journal Literature Search Service3; PEDRO4; OT SEARCH (FORMERLY OT BIBSYS5; CINAHL Database; Science Direct6; Pub med; Elsevier; Scientific Information Database (SID); Magiran7; and Google scholar8.
Water aerobi cs program helps in improving motor skills in children with mild to moderate physical disor- ders, but it was not found to have any significant effects on the functional strength, balance and aerobic capacity of the patients (level III evidence) [15].
Halliwick hydrotherapy programs performed 2 to 3 times per week for an average period of 30 minutes for 12 weeks was found to have positive effects on the gross motor function and enjoyment of physical activ- ity, especially in children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and GMFCS 2 levels with activity limitations on the ground.