EFFECTS OF AQUATIC PHYSIOTHERAPY ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH SEQUELARES OF STROKE ACCIDENT

Abstract

A stroke is called a change in blood flow in the brain region. It is one of the world's biggest causes of death and disability. Therefore, aquatic physiotherapy is a segment of physiotherapy whose objective, in this case, is to provide a better quality of life and reduce deficits related to pathology. Its objective is to understand the effects of aquatic physiotherapy in the treatment of patients suffering from stroke. A literature review was carried out on PubMed, with inclusion criteria for randomized clinical studies, published between 2018 and 2023, without language restrictions and that were freely available. The exclusion criteria were literature review studies, research protocols, studies that did not refer to the intervention of interest. Based on the association of descriptors with the Boolean operator, in the PubMed database, the searches returned a total of 45 articles. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 studies were excluded. The studies analyzed indicate that aquatic therapy is effective in treating the pathology in question, in the process of restoring neuroplasticity, motor rehabilitation, balance and functionality. Furthermore, it is worth highlighting that the studies collaborate and present greater results from aquatic therapy than on dry land. It is concluded that aquatic therapy is safe and effective in the treatment of stroke. Therefore, larger studies must be carried out, due to the scarcity of publications with the intervention, harming evidence-based practice.