Is aquatic exercise for muscle strength really effective for osteoarthritis of the knee?

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K12634
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 90110:Biomedical engineering-related
• Research Institution: Aichi Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Deie Masataka 愛知医科大学, 愛知医科大学, 名誉教授 (30363063)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 赤尾 真知子 愛知医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (20593891)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 水中運動 / 筋力トレーニング / 表面筋電計

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To prove and establish evidence for exercise therapy in water, a surface electromyograph was used to measure muscle activity during squatting exercises on land and in water.
Results showed that different muscle activities occur on land and in water. The knee extensor muscles showed lower muscle activity in the water than on land, while the trunk muscles showed higher muscle activity in the water than on land. In the squatting exercise with body weight, the body weight is the load, but in water, the load is unloaded due to buoyancy. It is thought that the reduced load reduces the muscle activity of knee extensors in water compared to land. On the other hand, the trunk muscles are presumably more active due to water resistance during exercise in water.

Free Research Field

膝関節

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

同じ運動を行った場合でも水中と陸上では筋活動が異なることが明らかとなった。これは運動指導を行う上で根拠となる重要な成果である。水中と陸上それぞれの筋活動の特性を理解した上で対象者や目的に応じた根拠のある運動指導することでより効果的な運動が実施可能となる。リハビリテーションや健康増進の分野で応用可能な意義のある成果と考える。