BACKGROUND: Following a bleeding, deficiency of coagulation factors and delayed blood clotting time are of problems with patients with hemophilia. This study aimed to assess the effect of 8-weeks exercise in water on factor VIII and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) in men with hemophilia. METHODS: In this semi-experimental study, using pretest and posttest method, 20 men with hemophilia were randomly divided into two groups of 10. Patients in experimental group, exercised in the water for 8 weeks, 3 sessions of 45 to 60 minutes per week; while the control group did not perform any kind of physical activity and were followed only. The levels of factor VIII and PTT were measured before and after the intervention and analyzed. FINDINGS: 8-weeks exercise in water established a significant reduction in the amount of PTT in experimental group compared to the control group (p = 0.002); The PTT decreased from 80.90 to 74.20 seconds in the experimental group, whereas no significant decrease was seen in the control group (pre- and post-test PTT of 77.20 and 79.50 seconds, respectively). There were no significant changes in the level of factor VIII; in the experimental group, this amount increased from 1.6 to 2.1 IU/dl, but this finding was not statistically different (p > 0.050). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that exercise in water can significantly reduce clotting time (PTT) in men with hemophilia.

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