Does water-based exercise affect balance and falls in menopause? What 9 studies found

Postmenopausal women did a 24 week high intensity aquatic exercise program and researchers reported fewer falls and improved strength, balance and mobility compared to controls.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 108 women · 24 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 28 timesPubMed

Postmenopausal women did 24 weeks of high-intensity jump-based aquatic exercise, which increased spine, hip, and whole body bone density and improved agility and leg strength versus untrained controls.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 25 women · 24 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 33 timesPubMed

Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 10 months of land or aquatic exercise; land exercise improved muscle strength, flexibility, gait time, pain and bone density more than aquatic exercise.

No difference foundRandomised trial · 58 women · 43 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 22 timesPubMed

Postmenopausal women did 8 weeks of water-based exercise with or without blood flow restriction; adding blood flow restriction increased leg strength more than water exercise alone.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 28 women · 8 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 19 timesPubMed

In 36 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, 12 weeks of water-based physical therapy improved postural balance more than land-based therapy, which showed no significant change.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 36 women · 12 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed

In 40 overweight or obese postmenopausal women with low vitamin D, 8 weeks of water-based aerobic training with vitamin D3 improved BMI, grip strength, balance and gait speed more than either alone.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 40 women · 8 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed

24 middle-aged women did water-based neuromuscular stabilization training twice weekly for 12 weeks and showed improved balance and functional movement scores versus controls.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 24 women · 12 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed

Postmenopausal women on alendronate did resistance training, judo, water aerobics or no exercise for 12 months; resistance training and judo groups showed greater gains in spine bone density, balance and quality of life than controls.

Reported an improvementControlled trial · 35 women · 52 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed

Over six weeks, postmenopausal obese women doing aquatic resistance, balance and proprioceptive training showed greater improvements in strength, balance and ankle-foot alignment than land-based exercise.

Reported an improvementControlled trial · 143 women · 6 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed