Comparison of walking exercises in air and in water in children with cerebral palsy
No To Hattatsu, 21 (5):
460--464 (September 1989)Abstract
To compare the effect of walking exercise in water with that in air in cerebral palsied children, we measured in ten subjects oxygen uptake (VO2) during walking for 3-minutes. In 7 children with spastic type of cerebral palsy, VO2 values were significantly lower in exercises in water than in air (p less than 0.05). No significant differences were found in athetotic children. In 5 children with crouched posture VO2 showed a tendency to be lower in exercises in water than in air (0.05 less than p less than 0.1). In contrast, significant differences were not found in 5 children without crouched posture. Children with spasticity or crouched posture may be able to walk in water more than in air.