Journal of Advanced Biomedical Sciences

Background and Objective: Imbalances and disturbances in walking pattern are of factors affecting physical, psychological and social health of the elderly. This study aimed at investigating the effect of 10 weeks of Pilates exercises on static and dynamic balance and psychological factors in elderly men.
Materials & Methods: In this quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design, a total of 22 elderly men with the average age of (65/76 ± 2/81), referring to Amir Kabir clinic of Kashan in 2016, were purposefully selected as sample and were randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control, each of which consisted of 11 people. The experimental group participated in a Pilates exercise program for 10 weeks, 3 sessions per week for 60 minutes. The collected data were analyzed by using dependent and independent t-test at a significance level of P<0.05.
Results: The results showed that Pilates exercises had a significant effect (P<0.05) on static balance (P=0.0001) and dynamic balance and other psychological factors (P=0.0001) in the experimental group compared to the control group; but there was no significant difference (P<0.05) in the control group which had not receive any training program (P˃0.05).
Conclusion: It seems that Pilates exercises can improve the static and dynamic balance, reduce anxiety and depression and can improve mental and social functioning in elderly men. Pilates exercises can be used as a complementary therapy to improve balance and reduce falls; also, it can develop mental health indicators and can be a good and low cost alternative.