Introduction: There is considerable evidence to indicate that exercise can have a positive impact on the treatment of people with haemophilia (PWH). However, there is a requirement for in-depth and comprehensive studies.
Aim: This study aimed to analyse the evidence regarding the effects of exercise in PWH through an umbrella review of existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The secondary objective was to analyse the quality of the evidence.
Methods: This umbrella review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was documented in the PROSPERO registry (CRD42019140785). We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, CINAHL and Cochrane Library databases. The methodological quality of the systematic reviews was assessed using AMSTAR 2.
Results: Out of a total of 1030 systematic reviews, 10 fulfilled the criteria. Only one study was classified as high quality, and half of the selected studies were classified as low or critically low quality according to AMSTAR 2. Furthermore, most reviews investigated the effects of strength training and aquatic training, with positive results associated with low adverse events. Range of motion, strength and pain were the most investigated variables. All reviews showed overlapping studies.
Conclusion: Exercise is an effective way to treat haemophilia and has a low incidence of related adverse events. However, caution is needed in the interpretation of the results due to half of the selected reviews showed low or critically low quality and only one have high quality.
Keywords: bleeding disorders; evidence-based practice; exercise; haemophilia; haemophilic arthropathy.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.