A meta-analysis of 16 trials with 594 postmenopausal women found aquatic exercise improved limb strength, agility, flexibility, and quality of life, but not aerobic capacity.
No difference foundMeta-analysis · 594 participants pooled · 2023PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 20 trials found water-based exercise improved muscle strength, aerobic capacity and flexibility versus no exercise in postmenopausal women, with similar effects to land-based exercise.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2022PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis did 4 months of intensive aquatic resistance training and showed decreased fat mass and faster walking speed, with walking speed gains maintained at 12 months.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 87 women · 16 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 72 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis, 16 weeks of aquatic resistance training changed cartilage composition on MRI and improved cardiorespiratory fitness by 9.8% compared with controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 87 women · 16 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 58 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did 24 weeks of aquatic resistance exercise or elastic band training, both reducing body fat and blood pressure and improving strength and fitness tests similarly.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 46 women · 24 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 69 timesPubMed
In a 20-week RCT, postmenopausal women with stage 2 hypertension who swam 3 to 4 days a week showed reduced arterial stiffness and blood pressure and increased strength and aerobic capacity versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 100 women · 20 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 38 timesPubMed
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
In 34 obese postmenopausal women with knee osteoarthritis, an 8-week dance-based aquatic exercise program improved function, cardiorespiratory capacity and fatigue more than a standard aquatic program, with benefits partly maintained at 3 months.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 34 women · 8 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 26 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of water-based combined aerobic and resistance training, with both exercise orders increasing upper and lower body strength and muscle thickness.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 21 women · 12 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 25 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.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 28 women · 8 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 19 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
Sedentary postmenopausal hypertensive women doing 8 weeks of aerobic exercise in mineral spring water showed reduced blood pressure and body fat and improved fitness versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 women · 8 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Eleven postmenopausal women did high-intensity interval exercise in water and on land, with water exercise producing greater muscle oxygenation and lower perceived exertion.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 11 women · 2020PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 24 weeks of strength training or hydro gymnastics, with both groups showing improved cardiorespiratory fitness and strength training also reducing body mass index.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 38 women · 24 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
77 postmenopausal women with low bone mass did water-based weight-bearing exercise for 12 months, improving fitness and wellbeing but not preventing spinal bone density decline.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 77 women · 52 weeks · 1997PostmenopausalCited 26 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did a single bout of water-based or land-based combined exercise, and perceived exertion and lactate were similar but muscle oxygen use patterns differed between environments.
No difference foundBefore-and-after study · 15 women · 2017PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed