Influence of pilates training on the quality of life of chronic stroke patients.
Seok-Min Yun, Sang-Kyoon Park, Hee Sung Lim
PMID 29184300WHAT IT FOUND
Chronic stroke patients who did Pilates reported higher physical, social, and psychological quality of life than patients who did occupational therapy without exercise.
Key findings
01Patients who participated in the Pilates programme showed significant improvements in physical, social, psychological and overall quality of life compared with their own baseline scores.
02Patients in the control group, who received occupational therapy without exercise-related activities, did not show a significant change in quality of life.
03After the programme, the Pilates group had higher quality-of-life scores than the control group in all domains and overall.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 40 chronic stroke patients were studied, so the result could be unstable. The paper does not report random allocation, allocation concealment, or blinding. Participants had to walk for 10 minutes or longer and score 25 or higher on the MMSE-K cognitive screening test, so more severely affected or cognitively impaired patients were not represented. The methods say 12 weeks, but the discussion says 15 weeks, so the programme duration is unclear. The control group received occupational therapy without exercise-related activities, so the study does not compare Pilates with other exercise programmes. Quality of life was self-reported, and no adverse events or follow-up beyond the post-test are reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that Pilates alone improves quality of life for all stroke patients. The participants were chronic stroke patients who could walk for 10 minutes or longer and had MMSE-K scores of 25 or higher, and the paper does not report how they were assigned to groups.