بررسی تأثیر 8 هفته تمرین پیلاتس بر کاهش افسردگی سالمندان مرد بازنشسته‌ی کارگر

Introduction and purpose: Nowadays, the issue of good health status in the fields of physical and psychological aging is getting global attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks Pilates training on depression treatment among sedentary retired workmen. Materials and Methods: This study was a semi-experimental design in which, thirty non-athletic elderly men were included. In a randomized sampling, the subjects were selected among elderly who referred to the Amir Kabir psychiatry center in Kashan and only those elderly with a registered medical record were eligible to be included in this study. Subjects were randomly divided into two equal groups of experimental and control. Level of Depression was measured using the Beck Depression Questionnaire (BDI-S-13). The experimental group received 8 weeks of Pilates training while, the controls received no exercise training. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to check the normal distribution of our data and effectiveness of Pilates training was evaluated using ANOVA with significance level of α=0.05. Findings: the mean age of sample was age 62.96 ± 2.88. Significant differences were observed in depression score of the experimental group in post-tests (P≤0.001). However, no significant difference was observed in the control group (P≥0.05). Conclusion: In general, eight weeks Pilates training program improved depression among retired workmen. The Pilates training is suggested as a noninvasive, non-medication and preventive method for the elderly who are suffering from depression.