Objectives Swimming coaches often use aids to enhance speed and power. However, the impact of different types and sizes of aids on swimming performance is not well understood. The objective of this review is to evaluate the effects in swimming performance using fins, hand paddles and parachutes. News A search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science in November 2023. Experimental studies of swimming performance with and without aid devices were included. Studies involving pathological swimmers were excluded. The revised Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials was used to assess the included studies. Outcome variables were synthesized using a meta-analysis of the reported medians and standard deviations. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria, involving 220 participants across the crawl, butterfly, and backstroke swimming styles. Prospects Results showed that fins increase swimming speed more than hand paddles. Additionally, the reduction in speed produced by parachutes is proportional to the parachute's surface area. All included devices reduce the stroke rate and appear to maintain an opposition stroke pattern, as indicated by the coordination index results. Finally, maximum oxygen consumption and hand propulsive force increase with the use of hand paddles. Conclusion The type and size of aids used in swimming have a direct impact on performance. Therefore, trainers and swimmers should select swimming aids, and their sizes based on training objectives and performance expectations. Hand paddles and fins can be used to increase swimming speed, while swimming parachutes can be used to reduce it. Increasing the surface area of the swimming device enhances its effect on speed and provides greater stimulus, especially during high-intensity training.
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