ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2017
Aquatic therapy for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD): an external pilot randomised controlled trial.
Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meeting report: Translating exercise research in dystrophinopathy to the clinic.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2026Article
- The CarerQol Instrument: A Systematic Review, Validity Analysis, and Generalization Reliability Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Aquatic Therapy in Children and Adolescents with Disabilities: A Scoping Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Feasibility of Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) as a Framework for Aquatic Activities: A Scoping Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Efficacy and safety of hydrokinesitherapy in patients with dystrophinopathy.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Aquatic Therapy for Persons with Neuromuscular Diseases - A Scoping Review.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2022Article
- Safety, feasibility, and efficacy of strengthening exercise in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.Muscle & nerve · 2021Article
- Impact of Aquatic Exercise on Respiratory Outcomes and Functional Activities in Children with Neuromuscular Disorders: Findings from an Open-Label and Prospective Preliminary Pilot Study.Brain sciences · 2020Article
- Are pilot trials useful for predicting randomisation and attrition rates in definitive studies: A review of publicly funded trials.Clinical trials (London, England) · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
22 authors at 11 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundStandard treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) includes regular physiotherapy. There are no data to show whether adding aquatic therapy (AT) to land-based exercises helps maintain motor function. We assessed the feasibility of recruiting and collecting data from boys with DMD in a parallel-group pilot randomised trial (primary objective), also assessing how intervention and trial procedures work.
methodsAmbulant boys with DMD aged 7-16 years established on steroids, with North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) score ≥8, who were able to complete a 10-m walk test without aids or assistance, were randomly allocated (1:1) to 6 months of either optimised land-based exercises 4 to 6 days/week, defined by local community physiotherapists, or the same 4 days/week plus AT 2 days/week. Those unable to commit to a programme, with >20% variation between NSAA scores 4 weeks apart, or contraindications to AT were excluded. The main outcome measures included feasibility of recruiting 40 participants in 6 months from six UK centres, clinical outcomes including NSAA, independent assessment of treatment optimisation, participant/therapist views on acceptability of intervention and research protocols, value of information (VoI) analysis and cost-impact analysis.
resultsOver 6 months, 348 boys were screened: most lived too far from centres or were enrolled in other trials; 12 (30% of the targets) were randomised to AT (
conclusionsNeither a UK-based RCT of AT nor a twice weekly AT therapy delivered at tertiary centres is feasible. Our study will help in the optimisation of AT service provision and the design of future research.
trial registrationISRCTN41002956.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.