Aquatic physical therapy boosts outcomes in women with breast cancer

Women with breast cancer may benefit significantly from aquatic physical therapy, which reduces fatigue while also improving quality of life (QoL), reports a recent meta-analysis.

A total of five randomized controlled trials, totalling 356 patients, were included in the quantitative synthesis. Only those that assessed various forms of aquatic physical activity (aerobic exercise, strength training, etc) were eligible for inclusion. Comparator interventions included all forms of controls, including standard care and land-based training.

Papers were retrieved from the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, Embase, Wanfang, and the Cochrane Library. Criteria outlined in the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook were used as the basis for determining study quality, which was found to be acceptable overall. Risk of selective reporting was low in four studies, while risk of other such biases was low in all studies.

Compared with usual care, aquatic physical therapy led to a significant decrease in fatigue (mean difference [MD], –2.14, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], –2.82 to –1.45; p<0.01), according to a meta-analysis of three studies (n=143). No such difference was reported for waist circumference.

Meanwhile, when using land-based exercises as a reference, aquatic therapy was found to yield significant QoL improvements, according to two studies (MD, 2.85, 95 percent CI, 0.62–5.09; p=0.01).

“With the increasing prevalence of this disease and the growing number of breast cancer survivors, it is evident that greater efforts are needed toward improving health and physiological and psychological measures in this population,” the researchers said.

“Our results give preliminary support to the implementation of aquatic exercise programs to promote the recovery of functional limitations following breast cancer treatment,” they added.