The Effect of Pilates Exercises and Aquatic Trainning on Walking Speed in Women with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic، autoimmune، inflammatory nervous system disease. It leads to the loss of myelin in the white matter of brain، spinal cord and optic nerves، and causes tiredness، muscle cramp، tremor، unsteady gait and some inability to move. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Pilates exercises and aquatic training on walking speed of women with MS. This clinical trial was conducted in 2012 on 45 women، referring to MS clinic of Kashani Hospital in Isfahan. The subjects with the age of 20-40، physical disablement of 4. 5 and disease duration of 8±2 years were randomly allocated to one of the three groups of Pilates exercises، aquatic training and control. Training program for pilates and aquatic group was carried out in 12 weeks، three sessions per week، and each session lasted about one hour. Patients'' walking speed was measured، using 25-foot walk test، before and after exercise. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics، covariance and paired comparisons of adjusted means. The adjusted mean of walking speed scores of the experimental groups are significantly different (P < 0. 05). While، the comparison of paired means between the two groups was not significant. Because of increased effect on walking speed، we recommend Pilates exercises and aquatic training as a complementary treatment alongside medicinal treatments for MS patients.