Vol.2, No.4, 102-107 (2013) Advances in Parkinson’s Disease http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/apd.2013.24019 Aquatic physical therapy for Parkinson’s disease Talita Gianello Gnoato Zotz1*, Eliani Arruda Souza2, Vera Lúcia Israel3, Ana Paula Cunha Loureiro4 1Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Paraná, Matinhos, Brazil; *Corresponding Author:
[email protected] 2Physical Therapy Clinic, Curitiba, Brazil 3Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil 4Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health and Biosciences Pontifical Catholic, University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil Received 11 June 2013; revised 2 August 2013; accepted 13 August 2013 Copyright © 2013 Talita Gianello Gnoato Zotz et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT a chronic and progressive disturbance of the nervous system, more specifically the ganglions of the base and One of the predominant effects of PD is altera- eventually resulting in abnormal posture and involuntary tion of motor skills, which leads to compromised movements [2]. posture and physical balance. Aquatic physical The knowledge about the possible factors in the phy- therapy, performed in a heated pool, can serve siopathology of PD also demands an inevitable investi- as one of intervention alternatives for PD carri- gation of the pertinent questions about natural aging of ers. Aim: To analyze the effects of the Halliwick the human being. And these investigations can also lead Concept hydrotherapy in acquisition of motor to further development of a repertoire of preventive phy- skills in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients.