Effect of Pilates Exercises on Some Gait Kinematics Parameters in Healthy Sedentary Middle-Aged Women

Aging reduces the physiological function of the body and perturbs the gait. On the other hand, based on the previous studies, regular physical activities postpone these perturbations. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of Pilate's exercises on some lower extremity kinematics parameters in healthy sedentary middle age women during walking.
A total of 20 healthy middle-aged sedentary women, between 50-45 years old, were purposefully selected to participate in the present study. In pre-test, each participant placed on a treadmill, then she walked on the treadmill for one minute. Then, the final 30-second of walking was recorded using the two-dimensional motion analysis system with 6 cameras at 120 Hz speed rate. Then, participants performed eight weeks of Pilates which was followed by a post-test similar to the pre-test. The Cortex software was used for data processing. Statistical analyses of data was performed using SPSS, version 22, running a paired T-test at a significant level of 0.05. Then, The desired parameter, including the hip, knee, and ankle motion range during the swing and stance phases were measured. Moreover, hip, knee, and ankle joint angles at both the heel contact and toe off moments were evaluated. Finally, the length step parameter was extracted, as well.
The results showed no significant differences between the evaluated parameters.
The present study showed that the eight weeks of Pilates training does not affect the lower extremity kinematics during walking in healthy sedentary middle-aged women. This must be due the fact that the aging physiological problems in middle aged women are less than those in the elderly.