Effects of Hydrotherapy on the Balance of Individuals with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Introduction: The Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to progressive loss of neurons in the substantia nigra, resulting in dysfunctions in the patterns of movement. Objective: To analyze the effects of hydrotherapy in balance of individuals with PD. Method: Seven individuals (54.00 ± 6.08 years old), with were PD studied. The evaluation of the functional balance was performed by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Timed up and Go test (TUGT) before and after the protocol of hydrotherapy. The protocol was applied three times week (40 minutes of duration) during four weeks. Results: It was observed a significant increase in the BBS scores (25.3 ± 10.0 vs. 37.0 ± 8.5) and a reduction of the time in TUGT (13.2 ± 1.8 vs. 11.4 ± 1.7; p < 0.05) after the program of hydrotherapy. Conclusion: The protocol hydrotherapy promoted an improvement in balance of individuals with PD.