Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38066577›Full record

SynthesisJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2023

Efficacy of aquatic exercise in chronic musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Tianyue Wang, Jiamin Wang, Yuheng Chen, Yanmin Ruan, Senjie Dai

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
5.8field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tianyue Wang *The Second Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China. 202012210908010@zcmu.edu.cn.
Jiamin Wang *The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China.
Yuheng Chen *The Second Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China.
Yanmin RuanThe Second Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China.
Senjie DaiThe Second Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China.
Zhejiang Chinese Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAquatic exercise (AE) is becoming ever more popular as a physical therapy, while it is unclear what precise improvements it will produce and how effective it will be in comparison with other non-surgical therapies. The study aimed to assess whether AE positively impacts chronic musculoskeletal disorder patients in terms of pain, physical function, and quality of life.

methodsPRISMA guidelines were followed, and our study protocol was published online at PROSPERO under registration number CRD42023417411. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane library databases for English-language articles published before April 11, 2023, including studies from all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). After screening, we ultimately included 32 RCTs with a total of 2,200 participants. We also performed subgroup analyses for all included studies. This meta-analysis calculated standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI), and the variance was estimated using a random-effects model. The quality of the included studies was assessed by using the Cochrane collaborative "risk of bias" assessment tool (version 2.0). Thus ensuring that the literature included is of high quality.

resultsThis meta-analysis included 32 trials with 2,200 participants; these patients were all between the ages of 38-80. The study showed that compared to the no exercise (NE) group, patients in the AE group experienced a remarkable reduction in pain (SMD: -0.64, P < 0.001), a significant increase in physical function (SMD: 0.62, P < 0.001), and a statistically significant improvement in quality of life (SMD: -0.64, P < 0.001). When compared to land-based exercise (LE), AE significantly relieves patients' pain (SMD: -0.35, P = 0.03).

conclusionsThis is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to study whether AE could improve chronic musculoskeletal disorders. The evidence suggests that AE benefits pain, physical function, and quality of life in adults with chronic musculoskeletal conditions compared to NE. Furthermore, when compared to LE, AE continues to provide a better improvement in patient pain. More long-term clinical trials are needed to confirm AE's positive effects and improvement mechanisms and the more existential advantages compared to LE.

Indexed as

ExerciseMusculoskeletal DiseasesAdultAgedAged, 80 and overChronic DiseaseExercise TherapyHumansMiddle AgedPainRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicMusculoskeletal painRehabilitation medicineSports medicineWater exercise

Identifiers

PMID38066577
PMCPMC10704680
OpenAlexW4389480222

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.