The Effectiveness of Eight-Week Pilates Training on Interleukine-18 Level, Fatigue, and Balance among Women with Multiple Sclerosis

It is commonly recognized that proinflammatory cytokines in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may increasingly cause inflammation. In this regard, the current study was aimed to shed light on the effectiveness of eight-week Pilates training program at interleukin-18 (IL-18) stage, severity of fatigue and balance as well as physical disability in females with MS. This study was a quasi-experimental research with a pre-test / post-test and control group that was conducted in Sirjan, Iran.  A total of 30 female MS patients (mean age of 30.15±6.97 y and 2≤Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) ≤5.5 were chosen using a purposeful sampling method and finally was divided into control and experimental groups . For eight weeks, three sessions per week (lasting 45-60 minutes), the experimental group conducted Pilates exercises; but the control group had no regular physical activity. Fatigue, physical disability and balance were evaluated before and after the specified program by using Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS), respectively. In addition, respondents took 5 ml of blood to evaluate their IL-18 levels. An independent t-test was also used to compare pre-test and posttest scores.  Accordingly, the findings indicated that Pilates training program significantly decreased levels of IL-18, the severity of fatigue, and the amount  of physical disability in females with MS (p≤0.05); and significantly increased the balance (p≤0.05). Patients with MS can therefore make the best use of such exercises to strengthen their immune system and performance.