Effect of aquatic exercise on sleep efficiency of adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain

Background: Aerobic exercise improves sleep for people who have difficulty in sleeping soundly, but most research to date has focused on land-based exercise. There has been only very limited research into the effect of aquatic exercise on people with chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a 6-week aquatic exercise program on sleep efficiency among adults with chronic MSK pain.
Methods: A total of 30 adults with chronic MSK pain were recruited by convenience sampling and assigned into intervention and control groups by a trained research assistant. Their sleep efficiency, sleep quality, activity level, stress level, and pain level were measured with ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer before and after the intervention group completed a 6-week, biweekly program of aquatic exercise.
Results: Following intervention, the intervention group had significantly longer total true sleep time (by 27.6 min, P =.006); greater sleep efficiency (+3.01%, P =.005); and less pain (−1.33/10, P =.026). The control group had significantly shorter total true sleep time by 5.8 minutes (P =.036) while changes in the other outcomes were not significant. Conclusions: Six weeks of moderate-intensity aquatic exercise may improve sleep efficiency and reduce pain for persons suffering chronic MSK pain.

Actigraphy, Aerobic training, Hydrotherapy, Insomnia, Pool training

10.1123/jpah.2020-0476

1543-3080

1037-1045

So, Billy C.L.

c1241458-cc83-4be9-b36a-c4f441a6f3ef

Kwok, Sze C.

7a194966-666e-4130-b3fe-8070f1339333

Lee, Paul H.

02620eab-ae7f-4a1c-bad1-8a50e7e48951

September 2021

So, Billy C.L.

c1241458-cc83-4be9-b36a-c4f441a6f3ef

Kwok, Sze C.

7a194966-666e-4130-b3fe-8070f1339333

Lee, Paul H.

02620eab-ae7f-4a1c-bad1-8a50e7e48951

So, Billy C.L., Kwok, Sze C. and Lee, Paul H. (2021) Effect of aquatic exercise on sleep efficiency of adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 18 (9), 1037-1045. (doi:10.1123/jpah.2020-0476).

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e-pub ahead of print date: 30 June 2021

Published date: September 2021

Additional Information: Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the students at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for their assistance, especially: Ms C.T. Tam, Mr Louis Li, Ms Nathania Suen, Ms Samuela Suen, Ms Irene To for their data collection. The authors would like to thank Mr Harry Lee for providing support over the hydrotherapy facilities and Mr Falcon Tsang, Mr Pat Wan, and Ms Rose Yu for implementation of aquatic aerobic program. The cost of ActiGraph was supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund (Ref 12131741) from Food and Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, and the General Research Fund Early Career Scheme (Ref: PolyU 251056/16M) from University Grants Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Human Kinetics, Inc.

Keywords: Actigraphy, Aerobic training, Hydrotherapy, Insomnia, Pool training