Effects of Eight-week Pilates Training on Elderly People's Dynamic and Static Balance Abilities

Abstract

| PURPOSE: Improving elderly people's balance ability through pilates which may be easily applied in ordinary life is considered an important intervention method for elderly people. Therefore, this study examines the effects of pilates training on elderly people's static and dynamic balance abilities and provides clinical data to improve this ability. METHODS: The pilates program was applied to 19 elderly subjects three times per week for 8 weeks. Their training level took into consideration their age and was set so that the rating scales of perceived exertion became 13 to 14. Prior to the initiation of the experiment, the subjects had an adaptation period in order to practice the order and motions of pilates. After the adaptation period, the subjects received training. The program was conducted three times per week, for eight weeks. Their dynamic balance ability was observed through the timed up and go (TUG) test and tandem walk test (TWT), and their static balance ability was evaluated by the center of pressure (COP) area, medial-lateral displacement, and anterior-posterior displacement. †Corresponding Author : vchoi77@empal.com This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. RESULTS: The results of the TUG test and TWT and evaluations of the COP area and medial-lateral displacement were significantly different after the pilates exercise program compared to those before the program began. CONCLUSION: The results show that an 8-week pilates exercise program is an effective method to increase elderly people's static and dynamic balance abilities. In addition, the application result of the pilates exercise program will provide useful information for future research on elderly people's balance ability.