Changes in gait and balance parameters in elderly subjects attending an 8-week supervised Pilates programme

• Published in: Journal of bodywork and movement therapies Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 549 - 554
• Main Authors: Newell, D., Shead, V., Sloane, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2012
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - prevention & control; Age Factors; Aged; Aging - physiology; Confidence Intervals; Exercise Movement Techniques; Fall risk; Female; Fractals; Gait - physiology; Gait Disorders, Neurologic; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Pilates; Postural Balance - physiology; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Surveys and Questionnaires; Fall risk; Fractals; Pilates
• ISSN: 1360-8592; 1532-9283; 1532-9283
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2012.02.002

Falls in the elderly have important clinical and economic costs and interventions that may reduce the risk of such problems are potentially important. Although evidence exists for a range of exercise interventions, few have looked at a Pilates-based intervention in a supervised community-based setting and none have specifically measured gait parameters as an outcome. This observational study investigated gait parameters including inter-stride variability (ISV) and postural sway in a group (n=9) of elderly (age range, 60–76) subjects attending a weekly Pilates class over eight weeks. The results suggest that significant improvement in walking speed (0.14m/s (95% CI: 0.06–0.21)), step cycle (0.07m (95% CI: 0.01–0.14)) and length (0.10m (95% CI: 0.05–0.15)) and a composite ambulation index (6.5% (95% CI: 1.85–11.26)) were seen post the intervention, while coefficients of variation decreased around 15%. In addition both anterior–posterior sway decreased along with a improvement in a fall risk index (FRI). Inter-stride variability on the other hand did not change. The results of this study suggest that a short Pilates program may have the potential to improve gait and sway parameters, including those associated with fall risk.