A Pilates Exercise Program for Improving Core Strength, Balance and Functional Autonomy in Aged Women

July 2, 2018 updated by: Maria Carrasco, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia

A Pilates Exercise Program for Improving Core Strength, Balance and Functional Autonomy in Aged Women: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study is based on assess and contrast isometric and isokinetic core strength, static and dynamic balance, the number of falls, and functional autonomy in three different old women groups after a 18 weeks 1) Pilates-based structured exercise program, 2) muscular structured exercise program, and 3) nonexercising.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Real life conditions require concurrent attention-demanding tasks, increasing the risk of falling and contributing to disability. Pilates-based exercise is proposed as a combined core and mental training program grounded on learning functionally effective postural sets and motor patterns, that will provide better results than a muscular exercise program in old women trunk strength, the risk of falling, functional autonomy and other complementary physical and mental functions. This is a 30-weeks quasi-experimental randomized controlled trial in which 80 independent old women will be allocated to a Pilates-based exercise program, a muscular exercise program, and a no-exercise control group. The intervention is divided into 18 weeks of supervised exercise and a 12 weeks follow-up. Primary outcome will be isokinetic and isometric trunk and hip flexion-extension strength, static and dynamic balance, the number of falls, and functional autonomy. Secondary outcome will include body composition, habitual physical activity and a standardized gerontological evaluation composed of body composition, daily physical activity, the independence to develop basic and instrumental activities of daily living, and the cognitive, affective and social function assessment. Every item will be measured at baseline, 18 and 30 weeks.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women aged from 60 to 80 years, physically and mentally able to enroll in the exercise programs. The level of education, toxic habits, medical treatment and/or diseases that can affect musculoskeletal or cardiovascular systems, mental illness, urinary incontinence, the presence of oedema and high blood pressure will be controlled.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current or prior participation in a structured Pilates-based or muscular exercise program in the past 3 months, and visual or auditory impairments not corrected with glasses or hearing aid. Each participant will also be at least 80% compliant to the exercise.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Pilates exercise program
Incorporate Pilates principles to stimulate core muscles in a dynamic and static way, and exercising arms and legs complementarity with balance as an essential part of standing exercises.
2 sessions/week, 1 hour/session during 18 weeks. Intensity determined from 6 to 9 points, controlled by the Resistance exercise scale of perceived exertion (OMNI-RES).
Experimental: Muscular exercise program
To train core muscles in a dynamic and static way, and exercising arms and legs complementarity with balance as an essential part of standing exercises.
2 sessions/week, 1 hour/session during 18 weeks. Intensity determined from 6 to 9 points, controlled by the Resistance exercise scale of perceived exertion (OMNI-RES).
Active Comparator: Control group
Healthy active but nonexercising old women
No exercise

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in trunk and hip isokinetic and isometric muscular flexion/extension peak torque, given in Newtons per meter.
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
assessed on a Biodex System III Pro Isokinetic Dynamometer (Biodex Medical System, NY, USA).
"Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in displacement of the center of pressure (millimeters) and time spent standing on two feet, tandem and monopodal display.
Time Frame: Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
assessed with a portable force platform (Kistler, 9286AA).
Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
Changes in time spent to accomplish the Timed Up and Go test for dynamic balance
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
participants will be given instructions to stand up from a chair, walk 3 meters as quickly and safely as possible, turn around a cone, walk back and sit down.
"Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
number of falls
Time Frame: participants will be followed every 4 weeks
number of falls registration
participants will be followed every 4 weeks
Changes in time to accomplish the protocol GDLAM for assessing functional autonomy
Time Frame: Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks
protocol GDLAM consists of: 10 meters walking speed, standing up from a chair during 5 times, get up the floor from the ventral decubitus position, standing up from a chair and walk around a triangular circuit, and putting on and taking off a T-shirt.
Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks
Changes in bone mineral, lean mass (nonbone), and fat mass for total body, head, chest, trunk, hip, right and left legs and arms regions.
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
assessed with a dual-energy X-ray bone densitometry (XR-46, Norland Corp., Fort Atkinson, USA).
"Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
Changes in score from the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) to measure habitual physical activity.
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
The PASE is comprised of self-reported occupational, household and leisure items over a one-week period.
"Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
Changes in the Katz scale index to assess the independence to develop basic activities of daily living
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
It summarizes performance in six functions: namely, bathing, dressing, going to toilet, transferring, continence and feeding.
"Changes from baseline at 18 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 30 weeks"
Changes in the Lawton and Brody's scale index to assess the independence to develop instrumental activities of daily living
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 22 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 34 weeks"
It encomprises eight functional abilities, such as the use of the telephone, shopping, food preparation, housekeeping, laundry, mode of transport, taking medication and handling finances.
"Changes from baseline at 22 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 34 weeks"
Changes in the Mini-Mental State score to assess the cognitive function
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 22 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 34 weeks"
It covers orientation, memory, attention, calculation, recall and language
"Changes from baseline at 22 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 34 weeks"
Changes in the Geriatric Depression Scale of Yesavage (GDSy) score to determine the affective function
Time Frame: "Changes from baseline at 22 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 34 weeks"
It is composed of 15 questions that cover a wide variety of topics relevant to depression, such as somatic complaints, cognitive complaints, motivations, future/past orientation, self-image, losses, agitation, obsessive traits, and mood itself.
"Changes from baseline at 22 weeks" and "Changes from baseline at 34 weeks"

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Study Director: Maria Carrasco, PhD, Universidad de Almeria
  • Principal Investigator: Domingo J Ramos-Campo, PhD, Universidad Católica San Antonio. Murcia
  • Principal Investigator: Jacobo A Rubio-Arias, PhD, Universidad Católica San Antonio. Murcia
  • Principal Investigator: Delia Reche-Orenes, PhD student, Universidad Católica San Antonio. Murcia

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 21, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 22, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

July 23, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 5, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 2, 2018

Last Verified

July 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PMAFI/24/14

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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