Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of aquatic exercise training on fatigue
and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in women with multiple sclerosis (MS).
DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial, 4-week and 8-week follow-up. SETTING:
Referral center of a multiple sclerosis society.
PARTICIPANTS: Women (N=32)
diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (mean age +/- SD, 32.6+/-8.0y) were
recruited into this study. After undergoing baseline testing by a neurologist,
participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention (aquatic exercise)
or a control group. INTERVENTIONS: The intervention consisted of 8 weeks
supervised aquatic exercise in a swimming pool (3 times a week, each session
lasting 60min). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: At baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks, fatigue
and HRQOL were assessed by a blind assessor using the Modified Fatigue Impact
Scale and the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire, respectively.
A mixed-model approach to repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to
detect within- and between-subject effects. RESULTS: Findings are based on 21
patients (10 from the exercise group and 11 from the control group) who had data
available on outcomes. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups
at the baseline. Patients in the aquatic exercise group showed significant
improvements in fatigue and subscores of HRQOL after 4 and 8 weeks compared with
the control group. Results obtained from the intention-to-treat analysis were
consistent with those of per-protocol analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest
that aquatic exercise training can effectively improve fatigue and HRQOL of
patients with MS and should be considered in the management of this relatively
common public health problem.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS