Effects of Pilates Exercises on Trunk Flexibility and Strength

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2014-05-27T12:33:31Z
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  1. ABSTRACT Over many decades, Pilate’s method, an exercise system developed by Joseph Pilates has continued to gain popularity among fitness experts and regular people alike, many describe its benefits but few scientific investigations have been carried out to verify these claims. Medical Students in the University of Debrecen, who participated in a 10-week elective Pilate’s course, were investigated. 10 medical students taking this course had 50 minutes of Pilates training weekly. They were examined for flexibility and trunk strength before and after the Pilates course. Questionnaires were also used before and after the entire program. Sit and Reach Test, Trunk Rotation Test and Lateral Flexion test were used for measuring the flexibility and the Sit up Test, the Trunk Lift Test and the Straight leg Abdomen Test were applied for testing the trunk strength. The Sit and Reach Test is a simple and common measure of flexibility which focuses on the lower back and Hamstring muscles. The Trunk Rotation Test assesses trunk and shoulder flexibility and the Trunk lateral Flexion Test focuses on the abdominal flexors. The Sit up Test examines the abdominal muscles and flexor muscles of the hip. The Trunk Lift Test scrutinizes the back extensor muscles, and the last test focuses on the strength of the abdominal muscles. The results showed that 8 out of 10 students were interested in improving their trunk flexibility while 6 out of the 10 students wanted to improve the trunk strength. The tests for flexibility showed systematic improvement of trunk flexion in forward and lateral directions as well as in rotational movement. The trunk strength was also increased as it was indicated by the scores of 3 relevant tests. Correlation between the trunk flexibility and the strength of the abdominal muscles was also discovered. After closing the Pilates session 7 out of 10 students rated the sessions as excellent and 3 students felt it was good. They felt that flexibility, the core, strength, and posture was mostly improved by completing the training. The Pilates method is a system of exercises designed to produce flexible and strong muscles. Our present work gives additional data to hypothesized benefits of this method. In order to draw conclusive evidence on this issue, larger sample sized prospective studies will be required with participants followed for a longer period of time.
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Kulcsszavak
pilates, trunk
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