Effect of Hydrotherapy on Children With Brain Tumor

NCT07094360 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2490-2016
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

• Background: Brain and spinal cord tumors are the second most common cancers in children (after leukemia). They account for about 1 out of 4 childhood cancers. More than 4,000 central nervous system tumors are diagnosed each year in children and teens. (Blaney et al., 2011).
• Aim: It has been reported that those children have easy fatigability so the purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of hydrotherapy on endurance in these Children.
• Significance: The effects of physical exercise training interventions for childhood cancer participants are not yet convincing due to small numbers of participants and insufficient study methodology. More and high-quality evidence is needed in order to be able to draft exercise and physical activity guidelines for this population. Despite the positive results of exercise interventions in adult cancer patients, the evidence for benefits in childhood cancer patients is limited (Braam et al., 2013). An 8-week deep water exercise program was clinically effective for improving CRF(Cancer-Related-Fatigue), muscle strength, and several aspects of mood state as compared with usual treatment care at short and medium term in breast cancer survivors reporting a moderate rate of fatigue (Irene et al., 2013). In this study, the investigators are trying to find out the effect of hydrotherapy as a way of fun and amusement that children can do easily with great pleasure and also as a treatment method.
• Subjects: Thirty children of both sexes will participate in this study. Inclusion criteria: Children between 5-14 years old after brain tumor resection surgery 2 weeks post-surgery. Exclusion Criteria: Cognitive or mental (developmental), or both, impairment, Children with a genetic disorder, Children with a chronic lung disease, Severe cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction \<40%, ischemia and angina pectoris at rest), Children with a neuromuscular disease.
• Methodology: For Evaluation: Lafayette manual muscle tester to assess muscle endurance/strength (Lafayette instrument evaluation, 2015). The pediatric quality of life inventory version 4(PedsQL) is used to assess quality of life (Varni et al., 1999). The nine-minute run-walk test (Guedes et al., 2006) and the timed up-and-down stairs test (Zaino et al., 2004) are to measure Cardiorespiratory fitness. For Treatment: Children will be divided into two groups, control group will receive a land-exercise program and study group will receive the same exercise program then repetition of these exercises under water to study the effectiveness of using hydrotherapy. The program will take 30 minutes (5 minutes each with 1 minute rest in between). The selected program will be in the form of:
• Sitting while strengthening shoulder horizontal adductors by using weights.
• Sitting while pushing down by using weights.
• Sitting while strengthening elbow extensors by using weights.
• Sitting while holding weights for a while.
• Standing on uneven surface.
• Pushing downs by legs.
• Sitting balance.
• Sitting with pushing by hands while making legs as glue.
• Sitting with kicking by legs while fixing hands.
• Standing and throwing a ball.
• Weight shifting and recovery while initiating single limb support.

Conditions

Pediatric Brain Tumor

Keywords

Hydrotherapy; Performance; Children; Brain tumor

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Muscle strength of upper and lower limb muscles

  Lafayette Manual Muscle Tester: The test was performed by applying force to the limb of a child as he/she resists the force isometrically. The objective of the test is for the clinician to overcome or "break" the child's resistance. When the resistance "break" occurs the Lafayette Manual Muscle Tester (MMT) records the peak force and the time required to achieve the "break providing reliable, accurate, and stable muscle strength readings that conform to most manual muscle testing protocols. The MMT also features a wide range of customizable options for data storage, preset test times, and force thresholds

  4-6 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Pediatric quality of life

  4-6 months

• Cardiorespiratory fitness

  4-6 months

Study Arms (2)

Land-based exercise program

EXPERIMENTAL

Land-based exercise program

Other: Land-based exercise program

Hydrotherapy besides Land-based exercise program

EXPERIMENTAL

Hydrotherapy besides Land-based exercise program

Other: Hydrotherapy besides Land-based exercise program

Interventions

Land-based exercise program OTHER

Land-based exercise program

Land-based exercise program

Hydrotherapy besides Land-based exercise program OTHER

Hydrotherapy besides Land-based exercise program

Hydrotherapy besides Land-based exercise program

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 5 Years - 14 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• They will be selected according to the following criteria:
• Children between 5-14 years old.
• Children after brain tumor resection surgery 4 weeks post-surgery.

You may not qualify if:

• Children who have one or more of the following criteria will be excluded from the study:
• Children who cannot follow orders or instructions.
• Children with a genetic disorder.
• Children with a chronic lung disease.
• Sever cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction \<40%, ischemia and angina pectoris at rest).
• Children with a neuromuscular disease.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Cairo University: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Brain Neoplasms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Central Nervous System Neoplasms; Nervous System Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Lecturer at Pediatric department, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 21, 2025
• First Posted: July 30, 2025
• Study Start: November 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2016
• Study Completion: April 1, 2017
• Last Updated: July 30, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07