The effects of aquatic exercise on body composition and nonspecific low back pain in elderly males

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aquatic exercises onnonspecific low back pain (LBP) in elderly males. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty-twoelderly men aged 65 or older were recruited and randomly allocated to two groups: aquatictraining (3 d/wk for 12 wk) or a control group. Body mass index (BMI), percentage of bodyfat (PBF), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and trunk muscle mass were measured before and aftertraining. [Results] The results suggested that all obesity variables including BMI, WHR,and PBF of the aquatic training group were decreased significantly, while the trunk musclemass of the aquatic training group was increased significantly. Furthermore, low back painwas decreased in the subjects after the intervention. [Conclusion] The water-based programimproved LBP and body composition in the elderly men.Key words: Elderly, Low back pain, Body composition