The effectiveness of hydrokinesiotherapy on postural balance of hemiplegic patients after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis:

Objective:To summarize evidence on the effects of hydrokinesiotherapy (HT) on postural balance in hemiplegic patients after stroke and compare them with conventional land therapy.Data sources:A literature search until October 2017 was conducted on CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane EBM Reviews, Cochrane Clinical Trials, DARE, MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), PsycInfo and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Source.Review methods:Only randomized controlled trials with pre-intervention and post-intervention assessment on postural control have been included. Assessment of the quality (by Downs and Black quality assessment tool) of the included studies was performed by two reviewers, and a meta-analysis was undertaken.Results:A total of 11 trials on postural control with 305 stroke patients were included. The majority of studies showed a beneficial effect of HT in postural control of the patients. The meta-analysis showed statistically significant improvement (P < 0.05) in Berg Balance Scale (BBS), medio...