Effects of Pilates Exercises on Doppler Parameters in Obese Females With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Pilates exercises on Doppler parameters in obese females with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Mediterranean diet; Other: Pilates exercise

Detailed Description

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder that impacts many women of the reproductive age worldwide. Depending on diagnostic criteria, this disorder affects ∼6% to 20% of reproductive aged women, with symptoms of PCO arise during the early pubertal years Pilates exercises are a set of specialized and combined exercises of both body and mind. Pilates lead to are markable decrease in body weight, BMI, lean body mass, and waist circumference in obese adults and this lead to decrease insulin resistance in obese PCO. Pilates exercises played an important role in improving physical fitness, body composition, metabolic disorders, and depression in women. It was reported that 30-45 min Pilates exercise could produce positive changes in energy expenditure, thus reducing body weight.

There is dearth of knowledge regarding the effect of weight loss interventions on Doppler parameters in obese PCOS females. Therefore, this study will be conducted to provide physiotherapists with a scientific updated knowledge, concerning effect of Pilates exercises on Doppler parameters in obese females with PCOS, aiming to normalize their Doppler parameters. This study may expand role of physiotherapy in woman's health.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Afaf M El-Sayed, PHD; Phone Number: +20105348451; Email: fofashahen23@gmail.com
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Doaa Osman, As.professor; Phone Number: +201115792245; Email: drdoaaosman@yahoo.com

Study Locations

• Egypt
  • Tanta, Egypt
    • Afaf Mohamed El-Sayed

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 25 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

All polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) females will have two of the 3 features of Rotterdam criteria for the diagnosis of PCOS which include oligo or anovulation, clinical and/or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism (i.e. hirsutism, acne, male pattern balding, elevated serum androgens), and polycystic ovaries on ultrasound.

• Their age will range from 25 to 35 years old.
• Their body mass index will be 30-35 kg/m2.
• Their waist hip ratio will be > 0.85.
• They should be non-smokers.
• They should have sedentary life style without participation at any exercise training program during this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• They shouldn't have cardio respiratory, renal, neurological and pelvic inflammatory diseases, anemia, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, headache, migraine, thyroid or mental disorders.
• They shouldn't receive any medical therapy for treating PCOS or for weight reduction.
• They shouldn't follow any exercise and/or diet program at least one month before the treatment program.
• Cardiac pacemaker users.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Mediterranean diet group; The participants will receive Mediterranean diet program, for 8 weeks.	Other: Mediterranean diet; Diet aimed to restrict the intake of sweets and foods containing trans fatty acids. The participants had a maximum carbohydrate intake of less than 20%, a maximum carbohydrate intake of 100 g throughout the day and an increased intake of protein and fat. Participants were advised to consume whole grain as a staple food, a high intake of extra virgin olive oil, vegetables (including green leafy vegetables, fruit, cereals, nuts, and legumes), moderate intake of fish and other meat, dairy products, and a low intake of eggs
Experimental: Mediterranean diet and Pilates exercise group; The participants will receive the same Mediterranean diet program, in addition to Pilates exercises, three times per week, for 8 weeks.	Other: Mediterranean diet; Diet aimed to restrict the intake of sweets and foods containing trans fatty acids. The participants had a maximum carbohydrate intake of less than 20%, a maximum carbohydrate intake of 100 g throughout the day and an increased intake of protein and fat. Participants were advised to consume whole grain as a staple food, a high intake of extra virgin olive oil, vegetables (including green leafy vegetables, fruit, cereals, nuts, and legumes), moderate intake of fish and other meat, dairy products, and a low intake of eggs; Other: Pilates exercise; It includes 5 Pilates exercises including bridge marching exercise, single-leg circles exercise, rolling like a ball exercise, plank to pike exercise, and side kneeling circles. The exercises will be performed 3 times per week for 8 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Body weigh (kilograms)	Body weight will be measured by weight scale (kilograms) for all participants before and after treatment	8 weeks
Body height (meter)	The height will be measured by height scale in meters for all participants before and after treatment	8 weeks
Body mass index	Weight-height scale will be used to measure body weight and height of each female in both groups before and after the end of treatment procedures to calculate body mass index.	8 weeks
Waist-hip ratio	Tape measurement will be used to measure circumference of waist and hip for all participated females in both groups before and after the end of treatment procedures to calculate Waist-hip ratio.	8 weeks
Peak systolic velocity (PSV)	The colour Doppler ultrasound will be used to measure peak systolic velocity (PSV). PSV reflects the extent of vascular filling and blood supply.	8 weeks
end-diastolic velocity (EDV)	The colour Doppler ultrasound will be used to measure the end-diastolic velocity (EDV). EDV reflects the blood perfusion situation of the distal tissue and numerical drop shows shortage of distal blood supply.	8 weeks
Resistance index (RI)	The Colour Doppler ultrasound will be used to measure the resistance index (RI). RI will be calculated as difference between Peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) divided by Peak systolic velocity (PSV). RI reflects impedance to blood flow, and lower values of RI and PI indicate higher blood flow.	8 weeks
Pulsatility index (PI)	The Colour Doppler ultrasound will be used to measure the Pulsatility index (PI). PI will be calculated as the difference between Peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) divided by the mean maximum flow velocity. PI reflects impedance to blood flow, and lower values of RI and PI indicate higher blood flow.	8 weeks
Ovarian volume	The ovarian volume will be measured by the ultrasonography. it is one of the diagnostic criteria of polycystic ovarian syndrome (more than 10 ml).	8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)	It will be used to evaluate health-related quality of life for each participants in both groups before and after the treatment course. It is a 36 item-scale which covers two categories: physical component summary and mental component summary. Each item falls on a 0-100 scale. Higher values indicate better health.	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Cairo University
• Investigators: Study Chair: khadyga Abdul Aziz, Professor, Cairo University; Study Director: Hossam Hussien, Professor, Al-Azhar University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): November 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 15, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 8, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 8, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): November 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 8, 2026
• Last Verified: November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases; Endocrine System Diseases; Neoplasms; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Genital Diseases, Female; Ovarian Diseases; Adnexal Diseases; Gonadal Disorders; Ovarian Cysts; Cysts; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Diet, Plant-Based; Diet Therapy; Nutrition Therapy; Diet; Diet, Mediterranean; Exercise Movement Techniques
• Other Study ID Numbers: P.T.REC/012/005602

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No