Effects of Pilates-based exercises on immediate pain in older people with persistent non-specific low back pain.

Abstract

Introduction: The low back pain is the most documented sort of vertebral column`s pain, it may affect almost 84% of the people at some point of their life (Airaksinen et al., 2006). This study aimed to determine the immediate changes of Pilates-based exercises program on pain (before vs. after session) in older people with persistent non-specific low back pain. Methods: Fifteen older people (age 65.5±3.5 years; body mass index 28.1±5.4 kg/m2; specific pain drugs 1.1±1.0 number) with persistent non-specific low back pain were selected to participate in a 12 weeks (2sessions/week – 60minutes/session) Pilates-based exercises program. The Portuguese version of The Keele Start Back Screening Tool (Raimundo et al., 2016) was used as inclusion criteria (medium and high risk were included). Pain was assessed with Visual Analogue Scale before and after each single session (i.e., 24 sessions). Results: Immediate benefits (pre-post session) were observed on pain with decrease ≈20% at 4th, 6th, 7th, and 10th sessions. No significant differences pre-post were showed before 4th and after 11th session. There were significant accumulative differences (pre session) on pain between 1st session and all sessions after 8th session. Conclusions: Pilates-based exercises program (2 times/week) led to a positive immediate decrease in the level of pain in older people with persistent non-specific low back pain after the second week. From the second month of the intervention the pre session pain decreases compared with the pain on the first session. So, only from the second month the patients begin the practice without pain and the intervention goes to a maintenance stage.