Effects of Pilates on Changes in Balance, Body Composition, and Vital Signs Including Dual Blood Pressure and Resting Heart Rate in Females With Multiple Sclerosis in Tabriz, Iran

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disorder with debilitating symptoms, which is associated with severe problems such as imbalance. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of Pilates exercise on changes in balance, body composition, and vital signs in females with MS.
The current quasi-experimental study was carried out after approval in the Ethics Committee of Shahid Madani University in 2016. The present study was performed on female patients with MS in Tabriz. Of the statistical population, 34 females with MS were selected by the random sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of exercise and control. The inclusion criteria were lack of a drug change during the study period, disability status score of 0 to 6, and the age range of 40 to 20 years. The exclusion criteria were no history of orthopedic, cardiopulmonary, or metabolic diseases, and severe and sudden neurological symptoms such as memory loss or poor judgment, seizure, severe depression, dizziness, severe balance or dizziness, hearing loss, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, etc. three weeks before the project onset. The exercise group underwnt three 60-minute sessions of Pilates exercise for eight weeks. The studied variables were measured 24 hours before starting and 24 hours after the complication of the exercise protocol in both groups. Balance was assessed via Timed Up and Go (TUG) test; body composition was assessed using Jackson-Pollock 3-site skin fold test, blood pressure was measured by the Omron blood pressure monitor, and using a wrist‐worn heart rate monitor. The data were then analyzed through paired samples t test; P ≤ 0.05 was the level of significance. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20.
Pilates exercise induced significant changes in fat content, body mass index (BMI), waist–hip ratio, balance, systolic blood pressure, and resting heart rate in experimental group (P 0.05). However, it failed to indiuce significant difference in weight and diastolic blood pressure (P ≤ 0.05).
Considering the significant effect of Pilates exercise on balance, body composition, and vital signs in females with MS, the exercises are suggested as a novel, non-aggressive method to suppress the progression of physical problems in such patients.