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Abstract. The aim of this paper is to track the aspects and results of applying an aquatic therapy intervention program adapted and integrated in the treatment of neuromotor reeducation of children with cerebral palsy on gross motor function, spasticity and range of motion. Material and methods: The aquatic therapy program had a duration of 6 months, 2 weekly sessions. The average duration of a session was 45 minutes. The water temperature was 36°C. Besides the aquatic therapy sessions the children participate in 2 physical therapy sessions which were included in the rehabilitation program of the institutions they belonged to. Twenty-four children diagnosed with cerebral palsy have participated in this study. The average age was 12.5±2.7 years.The assessment methods used were: Physical Activity Index is calculated by multiplying physical activity frequency, intensity and duration. Spirometry: The following device was used in order to assess vital capacity: MIR Spirobank II Spirometer, S/N 000912. Results: After the use of the aquatic therapy program, results have been statistically significant for physical activity index scores p<0.001. Baseline percentage of the maximum physical activity index score was 16.8% and the final percentage of the maximum physical activity index score was 68%. KINDLR - Questionnaire for measuring quality of life in children and adolescents. The scores of the questionnaire assessing quality of life in children and adolescents, KINDLR, show statistically significant increases (p<0.001), where we can observe a significant increase from a mean score of 67.3 ± 6.9 to a mean score of 96±4.1. At the end of the 6-month aquatic therapy program, the values for vital capacity have shown a statistically significant increase, p<0.001. The mean value of baseline vital capacity was of 2.2±0.7, the mean value of final vital capacity was of 3.4±1.1. The values for vital capacity increased by 56.7% when compared to baseline values. Conclusion: The aquatic therapy program along with the classic rehabilitation program is a factor which influences these parameters.
Key Words: aquatic therapy program, physical activity index, quality of life, vital capacity.
Copyright: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Introduction
Swimming and aquatic exercises are often recommended...