Pilates Exercise and Functional Balance in Parkinson\'s Disease

Background: Parkinson's disease as a progressive disorder of the nervous system leads to the disability of postural control system. Objectives: In the present study the effects of Pilates exercises on functional balance in patients with Parkinson's was investigated. Materials and Methods: This control trial included 30 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who were selected as subjects randomly and assigned into either exercise groups or control group. Participants in exercise and control groups attended an 8-week Pilates program or walking program respectively. Functional balance, core stability and lower limb strength were evaluated by Fullerton Balance Scale (FAB), valid functional core stability and strength tests respectively, before and after interventions. In order to analyze the data paired samples t-test and independent samples t-test and SPSS version 22 were used. Results: Attending an eight-week Pilates exercise was associated with a significant improvement in functional balance, core stability indicators and lower limb strength (p=0.000), while the difference of the variables in control group was not significant. Also the difference between the results of functional balance, core stability and lower limb strength of two groups in post-test was significant (p=0.000). Conclusion: Given that Pilates exercises involve both musculoskeletal system and nervous system, can be an effective intervention to improving balance in patients with Parkinson's disease.