Evidence library · Quality of life

Does water-based exercise affect quality of life in menopause? What 7 studies found

Studies of water-based exercise in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured quality of life. 4 reported an improvement and 2 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. 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.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 594 participants pooled · 2023PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed

  2. A meta-analysis of six trials with 432 postmenopausal women with knee osteoarthritis found aquatic exercise improved symptoms but not pain, stiffness, function, or quality of life compared to control.

    No difference foundMeta-analysis · 432 participants pooled · 2019PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed

  3. A meta-analysis of 23 trials in people with osteoporosis, 95 percent female with an average age of 67, found exercise such as resistance training, balance training and Pilates improved mental health, quality of life and pain.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,120 participants pooled · 19 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed

  4. Postmenopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis did 4 months of aquatic resistance training and showed a short-term drop in knee stiffness but no lasting change in pain, function or quality of life.

    No difference foundRandomised trial · 87 women · 16 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 20 timesPubMed

  5. This protocol describes a planned trial testing 4 months of aquatic resistance exercise on knee cartilage, pain, function, bone and quality of life in postmenopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis.

    Direction not statedRandomised trial · 80 women · 16 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 19 timesPubMed

  6. 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

  7. 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

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

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