SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1671788
This article is part of the Research TopicUnveiling the Mental Health Impact of Physical Decline in Older Adults: A Holistic ApproachView all 12 articles
Effectiveness of physiotherapy techniques on depressive symptoms in older adults: a systematic review
Provisionally accepted
José Lesmes Poveda-López
Carolina Jiménez-Sánchez
Juan Francisco Roy-Delgado
Raquel Lafuente-Ureta*
Ana Aguilera-Gonzalo- Universidad San Jorge, Zaragoza, Spain
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Introduction: The older adult population suffers from a high prevalence of depression, representing an increasing burden on healthcare systems. In this context, this systematic review evaluated the effectiveness of physiotherapy for the management of depressive symptoms in this population. The population aged 65 and over is increasing in developed countries such as Spain, currently accounting for 19.09% and projected to reach 25.2% within the next decade. Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions in this group, affecting 5% of community-dwelling individuals and 25% in institutional settings, significantly reducing quality of life and increasing the risk of dementia. While the pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments are standard, they present adverse effects and limitations in this population, prompting the exploration of physiotherapy as a non-pharmacological alternative. Objective: To analyze the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of combining conventional treatments with physiotherapy techniques for symptomatic improvement in elderly patients with depression, and to identify the most effective physiotherapy technique, when combined with conventional treatment, for depressive symptoms in older adults. Methods: We conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, and we performed searches in PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus and Cochrane Library databases. Study quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Results: Eight randomized controlled trials, encompassing a total of 1368 elderly participants diagnosed with depression or depressive symptoms who received physiotherapy, were included. The findings indicate that physiotherapy techniques, particularly therapeutic exercise, in combination with conventional treatments, may improve depressive symptoms in this population. Conclusion: Although we observed positive trends in the effectiveness of physiotherapy for depression in older adults, further research is required to validate its clinical efficacy and inform evidence-based treatment guidelines.
Keywords: Physiotherapy, Depression, Older adult, effectiveness, Systematic review
Received: 23 Jul 2025; Accepted: 02 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Poveda-López, Jiménez-Sánchez, Roy-Delgado, Lafuente-Ureta and Aguilera-Gonzalo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Raquel Lafuente-Ureta, Universidad San Jorge, Zaragoza, Spain
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