Therapeutic aquatic exercise is frequently offered to patients with chronic low back pain, but its long-term benefits are unclear.

We assess the long-term effects of therapeutic aquatic exercise on people with chronic low back pain.

This 3-month, single-blind randomized clinical trial with a 12-month follow-up period was performed from September 10, 2018, to March 12, 2019, and the trial follow-up was completed March 17, 2020. A total of 113 people with chronic low back pain were included in the experiment.

Participants were randomized to either the therapeutic aquatic exercise or the

physical therapy modalities group.

The therapeutic aquatic exercise group received aquatic exercise, whereas the physical therapy modalities group received transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and infrared ray thermal therapy.

Both interventions were performed for 60 minutes twice a week for 3 months.