TWO CASE STUDIES OF AN AQUATIC THERAPY PROGRAM FOR PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Abstract

 Background: some authors expressed that hydrotherapy and other physiotherapy modalities are ineffective and harmful to patients with Parkinson's. Although others claim otherwise, hydrotherapy is only commonly used in these patients as a complement to the physiotherapeutic treatment. Objective: to assess the effectiveness of a pro-gram of aquatic therapy on quality of life and the self-perception of physical functional status in two patients in the first phase of Parkinson's disease. Material and method: type single subject design. The measuring instruments were Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). The water program included techniques of Bad Ragaz, Halliwick, WST, Watsu and Ai-Chi, and it was carried out by three days a week for six months. Results: in PDQ-39 patient 1 improved 43 % and the patient 2, 38 %. The values of the NRS test suggest a positive trend, with a high value improvement in both patients (57 %). Discussion: the aquatic therapy pro-gram has proved to be beneficial to improve the quality of life and the self-perception of physical functional status of both patients.