The effect of Pilates training and massage therapy on plasma serum levels of IL-17 and IFN-β as pro-Inflammatory cytokines in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and are considered an important objective for therapeutic intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks Pilates training and massage therapy on plasma serum levels of IL_17 and IFNβ as pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients with MS. In this clinical trial study, 36 women patients (who had medical file in MS society of Tabriz, Iran) with range age from 30 to 40 years old, a degree of the disease from 0 to 4/5 and average length of disease was 7±2 yr, were selected and split in to 4 groups: massage (n=9), pilates (n=9), pilates + massage (n=9), and a control (n=9). Pilates training and massage therapy included 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, 40-60 minutes each session (20 to 40 minutes for Pilates and 20 to 30 minutes for massage). Blood samples were taken before and after intervention. Data were analyzed by ANOVA using spss20. The results showed that after eight weeks of Pilates training and massage therapy, IL-17 levels decreased significantly in Pilates, Massage and Pilates + Massage groups, and the level of IFN-β in massage and Pilates + Massage groups increased significantly (P< 0/05). Since Pilates coupled with Massage reduced pro-inflammatory IL-17 cytokine and increase IFN-β in MS patients, it seems that Pilates training and massage therapy can be used as a complementary treatment along with other drug therapies for preventing the progress of MS.