Influence of Pilates-based Exercises on Postural Balance

The study of the behavior of the mechanisms of body balance with a workout based on the Pilates method can facilitate the development of more accurate rehabilitation approaches. However, there is still little scientific information on its effects on the locomotor system and it's necessary to search for new methods to evaluate its strategies more specifically. Thus, this study aims to determine whether an exercise program based on Pilates method has influence on the static and dynamic postural balance of sedentary adults. This is a randomized controlled trial, which will be developed with an initial sample of 20 subjects of both sexes, aged between 18 and 30 years, divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. Participants with physical activity time up to 150 minutes per week will be included, assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and those who have no experience with the Pilates method. In the experimental group a workout program will be done for 6 weeks with individual classes including exercises based on the Pilates method, during 1-hour, twice a week. Assessments will be made prior and after the training program with anamnesis, anthropometric measurements and also the Balance Error Scoring System and the Star Excursion Balance Test Y to assess postural balance. During the tests and training program exercises the muscle activity of paraspinals and transversus abdominis will be analyzed using surface electromyography (sEMG), and body mass center displacement will be measured with a triaxial accelerometer positioned on the fifth lumbar vertebra. The data will be entered in a spreadsheet and statistically tested with SPSS software. The tests will include the comparison of means, association, correlation and effect size, which will be chosen according to the distribution of the data and will use the 5% significance level for all tests.