Land- and water-based exercise therapies for musculoskeletal conditions

This chapter summarizes current evidence from recently published systematic reviews of land- and water-based exercise therapies for musculoskeletal conditions. The aim is to present an overview of the evidence and highlight gaps where more research is still needed. This is not a systematic review, but a systematic search of the literature and a summary of results of the best, most recent systematic reviews evaluating interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. There have been two previous summaries of systematic reviews of evidence for exercise therapies in musculoskeletal conditions. We have updated these searches, and additionally considered the evidence for the clinical effectiveness of exercise in fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain and of hydrotherapy and water-based exercise treatments on pain and disability.

Key words: musculoskeletal conditions, treatment effectiveness, systematic reviews