The Effect of Aquatic Exercise Therapy on Muscle Strength and Joint’s Range of Motion in Hemophilia Patients

Background: this study was to evaluate the effect of a period ofaquatic exercise therapy on muscle strength and joints range ofmotion in hemophilia patients.methods: this was a semiexperimental, pretest, post?test studywith a control group. this semi-experimental study comprisedtwenty men suffering moderate hemophilia were selected byconvenience sampling method from patients of a referral hospital.they were randomly assigned to intervention and control groupsof equal number. the hemophilia patients who were referredto sayedo?shohada hospital enrolled in this study. twenty mensuffering moderate hemophilia were selected using conveniencesampling method and then divided randomly into intervention andcontrol groups (10 patients in each group). subjects of aquaticexercise therapy group underwent activity in water in threesessions (45?60 minutes) per week for 8 weeks, while the controlgroup was only under follow?up and during this period did notexperience any effective physical activity. the patients’ musclestrength and joint range of motion were evaluated through standardlaboratory tools, using an isokinetic dynamometer (biodex,systems iii) and a standard goniometer in the beginning andat end of the study. finally, data was analyzed using analysis ofcovariance (ancova).results: the strength of the muscles around the knee joint (toperform extension and flexion movements) increased significantlyin the case group while the control group experienced a significantreduction of strength in left leg, but in right leg remarkable changewas observed. range of motion in all joints was improved in thecase group, while the control group did not improve significantly.conclusion: the results showed that aquatic exercise therapy canbe a useful method to improve joints’ strength and range of motionin hemophilia patients in order to improve their daily functioningand quality of life.