Effects of pilates training on fear of fall and balance in elderly people

This experimental study aimed to determine the efficacy of Pilates exercise on the fear of falls and balance in 30 elderly. They were divided into two groups, the Experimental Group with Pilates exercises [EG] and the Control Group with conventional balance training exercises[CGj. All participants were given 45 minutes exercises thricela week for 4 weeks. Outcome measures were Fall Efficacy Scale, modified CTSIB, Limits of Stability, and Tandem walk. The confidence interval was kept at 95 per cent. The results revealed that fear of falls was improved significantly for EG (p = 0.001) while for CG, there was no significant improvement (p= 0.942), was noticed Mean COG sway velocity for EG was significantly reduced using a foam surface with eyes closed (p=0.003) whereas CG showed a significant difference on a firm surface with eyes closed (p = 0.02). Dynamic balance measured through limits of stability for movement velocity and directional control subcomponents showed mainly nonsignificant improvement in both groups except for the left side. On the basis of the present findings, it may be concluded that 4 weeks of Pi/ates and Conventional balance training showed improvements in fear of falls whereas Static and dynamic balance need to be further studied with a longer duration of intervention for its efficacy.