The effect of aquatic exercise on balance of adults with multiple sclerosis Ali Barbar, Reza Bahadoran and Yaser Ghasemzadeh

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and debilitating disease in which the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) is destroyed. The most common complications of this disease are fatigue, lack of balance, cramps, tremor, diplopia, pain and unsteadiness of gait. This study investigated the effects of 8-week aquatic exercise on balance in Adult with Multiple Sclerosis. In research, semi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group has been used and 60 male patients attending MS society. The subjects (with MS 2 5 and 20-50 years old) were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. Training program for aquatic group was carried out for 8 weeks (three sessions of one hour per week) while the control group did not receive any intervention. The Patients' static and dynamic balances were measured by Balance system before and after the exercise. The obtained data were analyzed by covariance method (ANCOVA). The results showed significant differences in the adjusted mean static and dynamic balance and in the experimental group in comparison with control group. Aquatic exercise increase balance in adult with multiple sclerosis. Therefore, this technic could be used as a complementary treatment alongside medications for multiple sclerosis patients.