ArticleJournal of rehabilitation medicine2025
Global research trends in aquatic exercise therapy for musculoskeletal disorders: a bibliometric analysis.
Article in Journal of rehabilitation medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of Aquatic Exercise on Sleep Quality in Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization for musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of its effects on pain, function, and range of motion.European journal of medical research · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAquatic exercise therapy has gained recognition as a valuable non-pharmacological intervention for managing musculoskeletal disorders. Despite the growing body of evidence supporting its efficacy, research on aquatic exercise therapy remains fragmented, with limited understanding of key trends, influential studies, and evolving themes within the field. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to identify publication trends, key authors, and the evolution of research themes in aquatic exercise therapy for musculoskeletal disorders.
methodsA total of 117 articles were selected based on predefined search terms and inclusion criteria, resulting in 3,985 citations, with an average of 35.9 citations per article and an H-index of 37.
resultsPublications surged between 2013 and 2024, accounting for 88.3% of total output. Peaks occurred in 2019 (n = 14) and 2022 (n = 368 citations). Key contributors include Mariana Arias Avila and Basia Belza, with journals such as BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders and Arthritis & Rheumatism-Arthritis Care & Research playing pivotal roles. Research trends shifted from disease-specific studies to broader quality-of-life outcomes, with keywords such as "rheumatoid arthritis", "balneotherapy", and "quality of life" emerging as focal points.
conclusionThe findings underscore the growing importance of aquatic exercise therapy in clinical rehabilitation and suggest that future research should focus on long-term outcomes, underrepresented populations, and the integration of aquatic exercise therapy with emerging rehabilitation technologies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.