Pilates exercise effect on pain and general health of female patients with chronic low back pain

Background: There is ample evidence supporting the effectiveness of exercise in management of chronic low back pain. Recently, there has been a growing interest in Pilates exercise among researchers and other professionals involved in this subject. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Pilates exercise on chronic low back pain.Material and Methods: twenty-eight patients with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to Pilates (n=15, mean age 40.20±8.07 yrs) and control group (n=13, mean age 38.30±7.84 yrs). The Pilates group underwent a six-week Pilates training program and the control group received routine treatments. Level of pain and General health status were respectively measured through Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ28) before and after the intervention. Covariance test with the variety factor (pre-test) in the level of α =0.05 was applied for statistical analysis of data.Results: after 6 weeks of treatment, the mean score of pain (p=0.024), and general health (p=0.04), as observed in Pilates group, was less than the usual-treatment group.Conclusion: The findings from the present study indicate that the selected Pilates exercises was more effective than the usual treatment methods in reducing pain level and improving general health in the patients with chronic low back pain. Therefore prescribing Pilates exercise for patients with chronic low back pain is suggested.Keywords: Pilates exercises, Chronic Low Back Pain, usual treatment, general health