The Effect of Aquatic and Non-aquatic Balance Training on the Fall Risk of Patients With Grade 2 and 3 Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of balance exercises in the aquatic and Non-aquatic environments compared with control in patients with grade 2 or 3 knee Osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: For this single-blind, randomized control trial study, 43 women with mild to moderate knee OA were recruited through a simple non-probability sampling method. They were randomly assigned to the aquatic balance exercise group (n=15), Non-aquatic balance exercise group (n=15), and a control group (n=13). The intervention programs comprised aquatic and Non-aquatic balance training. Fall risk, the primary outcome, was measured by the Biodex balance system before and after the intervention. One-way ANOVA and paired sample t-test were used for analyzing data. Results: After 4 weeks training, the Mean±SD fall risk score significantly decreased from 3.49±1.14 to 2.59±1.22 (P 0.001) in the aquatic balance training group, from 3.21±0.62 to 2.19±0.62 (P 0.001) in the Non-aquatic balance training group, and from 3.77±1.13 to 3.17±1.22 (P 0.001) in the control group. Regarding between- group comparisons, we found significant differences between the Non-aquatic balance training group and the control group (P=0.03). Discussion: Despite the environment, the balance exercise program significantly improved fall risk scores among patients with grade 2 or 3 knee osteoarthritis.