The effects of in-water and on-land aerobic training on postural sway and balance in patients with type 2 diabetes

Balance and maintaining posture are essential requirements for the daily activities of diabetic patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of in-water and on-land aerobic training on balance of type 2 diabetic patients. Is there a difference in the balance of patients between aerobic training environments in water and on land? For this, 24 participants were assigned randomly in three eight-person groups of control, aerobics on land, and aerobics in water. Patients performed aerobic protocol in 12 weeks (2 sessions per week) and total of twenty-four 60-min training sessions of progressive challenging with one completely identical protocol. Before and after the training period, patients’ postural sway and balance were measured and recorded in three components (anterior-posterior, lateral, and overall) by Biodex balance system. Data were analyzed using the dependent t, multivariate, and Tukey post hoc tests. The results showed that patients who performed in-water and on-land aerobic training, compared to the control group, had a significant effect on their balance (p ≤ 0.05). Although this significant effect was not observed between in-water and on-land aerobic groups just in the posterior-posterior component (p ≥ 0.05), there was a significant difference in lateral and overall components between these two experimental groups (p ≤ 0.05). The results showed that in-water and on-land aerobic training led to increased balance and decreased postural sways of diabetic patients. Also, in-water aerobics training compared to on-land aerobic training led to better effects on stability, consistency, and balance of patients due to increased stimulation of proprioception.