Effectiveness of Hydrotherapy on Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Marzieh  Dowlatshahi; Shaghayegh Rastgoo; Javad  salami; Raziyeh  Chabok; masoumeh sadat mousavi; Fatemeh  Naseri

doi:10.61838/

Authors

Marzieh Dowlatshahi Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Kashmar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kashmar, Iran

Shaghayegh Rastgoo School of nursing, Gerash university of medical sciences, Gerash, Iran

Javad salami Nursing Department, Lamerd school of nursing, Shiraz University of medical Science, Shiraz, Iran

Raziyeh Chabok Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Kashmar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kashmar, Iran

masoumeh sadat mousavi Department of Public Health , Faculty of Science, Islamic Azad University, Eghlid Branch

Fatemeh Naseri * Resident of endodontics, Endodontics department, Dental School of Shahid Sadoughi university of Medical sciences, Yazd, Iran Fatemenaseri9555@gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.61838/

Keywords:

Hydrotherapy, Low Back Pain, , Exercise Therapy, Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy Modalities

Abstract

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of hydrotherapy on pain and functional disability in patients with low back pain. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted based on randomized controlled trials. A comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, yielding a total of 1,144 records. After removing duplicates, 920 studies remained for title and abstract screening, of which 850 were excluded due to irrelevance to the study objective. Ultimately, 6 randomized controlled trials were included in the systematic review and 6 studies were eligible for meta-analysis. The results indicated that although several individual studies reported improvements in pain and functional outcomes following hydrotherapy, the pooled effect estimate from the random-effects model showed a non-significant effect in favor of hydrotherapy compared with control interventions (pooled effect size = −2.44; 95% CI: −5.88 to 1.00). Considerable heterogeneity was observed among the included studies (I² = 98.1%), indicating substantial variability in study populations, intervention protocols, treatment duration, and outcome measures. This high level of heterogeneity suggests that the findings should be interpreted with caution. Assessment of publication bias using Egger’s test (P = 0.07) and Begg’s test (P = 0.43) indicated no evidence of publication bias. Overall, although individual studies suggested potential improvements in pain and function among patients receiving hydrotherapy, the final meta-analysis did not demonstrate a statistically significant overall effect.

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