Abstract
Objectives
To investigate the effect of Pilates on balance and falls in older adults, and whether
programs tested in prior studies met best-practice recommendations for exercise to
prevent falls.
Data Sources
MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and The Cochrane
Library were searched from earliest record to July 2014.
Study Selection
Randomized and controlled clinical trials evaluating the effect of Pilates on balance
and/or falls in older adults.
Data Extraction
Two reviewers independently extracted demographic, intervention, and outcome data.
Six studies were included in this review.
Data Synthesis
High-quality studies in this area are lacking. When compared with nonactive control
groups, Pilates was shown to improve balance (standardized mean difference [SMD]=.84;
95% confidence interval [CI], .44–1.23; 6 studies) and reduce the number of falls
(SMD=−2.03; 95% CI, −2.66 to −1.40; 1 study). Three studies provided sufficient detail
to enable assessment of compliance with the recommendation of exercises providing
a moderate or high challenge to balance. In these studies, 2% to 36% of exercises
were assessed as providing a moderate or high challenge to balance. All studies provided
≥2 hours of exercise per week, and 1 study provided >50 hours of exercise during the
study period.
Conclusions
The evidence suggests Pilates can improve balance, an important risk factor for falls
in older adults. However, there is limited data on the impact of Pilates on falls.
Effects may have been overestimated because of the low methodological quality of studies.
Best-practice recommendations were rarely applied in prior studies, indicating greater
effects may have been achieved if recommendations were incorporated.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
CI (confidence interval), POMA (Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment), RCT (randomized controlled trial), SMD (standardized mean difference)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 12, 2014
Footnotes
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
