Investigation of the effects of 8-week pilates exercises on functional movement scan scores and some motor parameters

This study was performed in order to investigate the effects of 8-weeks reformer pilates exercises on Functional Movement Screen scores and certain physical motor parameters. In this study, 30 healthy women between the ages of 30-40 randomly placed into research group (n:15; mean age 35,13 ± 3,11 years, mean height 165,60 ± 5,03 cm, mean weight 58,26 ± 6,81 kg) and control group (n:15; mean age 34,46 ± 2,94 years, mean height 166,73 ± 4,31 cm, mean weight 60,26 ± 7,04 kg). Research group performed reformer pilates exercises 3 days in a week for 60 minutes during 8 weeks, whereas control group was not involved in any physical activity during this period. Functional Movement Screening Test (FMS), sit and reach test, star excursion balance test, squat jump test were administered to each participant three days before, and three days after exercise program on the same time and under the same conditions and environment. SPSS (21.0 version) software was used to analyze the data. Two-way ANOVA for mixed measurements was used for analyzing the data. According to the data obtained from this study, statistically significant difference was found between the average of total FMS scores of research group and the control group (p<0.05). In addition, statistically significant differences were found between research group and control group in terms of the levels of flexibility tests (p<0.05). At the same time statistically significant differences were found between research group and control group in terms of the explosive force tests (p<0.05). When the star excursion balance test results of both research group and the control group were examined, a statistically significance difference (p<0.05) was found among these groups. In conclusion, the 8-week reformer pilates exercises were to found to have a positive effect on Functional Movement Screen scores and certain physical motor parameters for sedentary women between the ages 30-40. Therefore, it can be said that reformer pilates exercise is an effective exercise method in functional movement abilities, streching, explosive force and balance improvements.