Aquatic exercise, including swimming, reduces the effect of body weight on limbs and joints. A combination of swimming and specific activities involving resistive devices was used in an attempt to improve strength in persons who had symptomatic weakness related to poliomyelitis. Dynamic muscular force application in selected limb movements and range of motion were measured before and after an 8-week aquatic exercise intervention. Peak (PF) and average force (AF) were determined in the water using a differential pressure transducer attached to either the hand, foot, or a resistive device. Arm flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, and horizontal adduction and abduction along with combined hip flexion and knee extension were tested for both PF and AF. Subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups; complete data were available on nine experimental and four control subjects. PF and AF changes were greater (p <= 0.05) for experimental compared with control for right arm flexion (PF, 96 versus 6%) and extension (PF, 105 versus -15%; AF, 76 versus -30%), respectively. Changes were greater (p <= 0.05) in experimental than control for left arm extension (PF, 88% versus 19%) and horizontal abduction (PF, 127% versus -21%; AF, 122% versus -17%). Aquatic exercise training in subjects with poliomyelitis disability resulted in significant dynamic strength changes of the upper body while appearing not to exacerbate symptomatic fatigue or pain.

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