Objective: Exercise baths are generally considered to be one of the most appropriate and advantageous rehabilitative therapies, yet their effects have not been comprehensively investigated. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of exercise baths on quality of life (QOL).
Methods: The 49 subjects consisted of 20 patients with brain disease, 21 patients with orthopaedic disease, and 8 patients with other diseases (i.e., 7 life-style related diseases and one heat burn). In the present study, all patients were first treated by conventional rehabilitation comprising physical therapy and occupational therapy for 4.2±1.4 weeks. Exercise baths were then added to the rehabilitation program for a further 4.4±1.2 weeks. The subjects were immersed in water at 38°C for 30-60min, twice a week. QOL was evaluated by alterations in the MOS Short-Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36). We defined the period from admission to exercise bath start as Treatment I, and the period from exercise bath start to discharge (exercise bath finish) as Treatment II. On admission, before and after exercise bath, QOL was evaluated using the SF-36 scores.
Results: We found that the increase of all eight subscales of the SF-36 was smaller in Treatment I period than in Treatment II period. Increases in SF-36 scores were observed in all patients, in all eight domains. Specifically, after exercise baths, increased scores of Physical functioning (PF), Role physical (RP), General health (GH), Vitality (VT), Role emotional (RE) and Mental health (MH) subscales of the SF-36 were observed in the patients with brain disease. Further, after exercise baths, increased scores of PF, RP, Bodily pain (BP), GH, VT, RE and MH subscales of the SF-36 were observed in the patients with orthopedic disease.
Conclusions: It was concluded that exercise baths are an effective non-pharmacological treatment that might facilitate rehabilitation programs.