A Spanish study suggests that adding Pilates in the daily routine can decrease chances of falling especially in older women as reported in Reuters. Older women with lower back pain who added Pilates as part of their physical therapy routine may see improvements in balance and confidence from falling off.
Researchers offered 100 women, aged 65 and older, physiotherapy sessions twice a week. Forty minutes was allotted to nerve stimulation and the rest of 20 minutes were massage and stretching exercises. Half of the women were then given an hour long of Pilates sessions twice a week.
After six weeks, they found out that women who did Pilates have a reduced risk of falling while the other half of women didn't. They also developed great improvement in balance and there was a reduced in back pain as well.
Lead author, Dr. Fidel Hita-Contreas of the University of jaen in Spain said, "Pilates exercises focus not only on physical but also on physiological development, and mind-body interaction is the main principal of the method."
Only few studies have proven the effectiveness of Pilates to women over 65 living with back pain. Fear of falling is one of the major health problems among this age group. This may result to less physical activity, avoidance of daily activities and lower quality of life as researchers noted in the journal Maturitas.
Researchers assessed the participants' fear of falling by giving them questionnaires at the start and end of the study. Most of the participants were aged 71 and are generally within a healthy weight range. Most of them are married, half had college education and less than a third are still working. Researchers then gave the women a timed test requiring them to stand up from a chair, walk three meters turn around and sit down. This process will detect changes in balance. They also asked the women about any pain associated with the activities.
Researchers acknowledged the study's limitations. Results may not be applicable to younger generations of women and long term effects of Pilates was not also considered. However, great improvement on balance have been achieved in just less than two months.
