The effects of 8-week pilates exercise on posture, balance, functional movement screen and quality of life in individuals

ABSTRACT THE EFFECTS OF 8-WEEK PILATES EXERCISE ON POSTURE, BALANCE, FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREEN AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN INDIVIDUALS Şeker, Rukiye Master's Degree, Physical Education and Sports Department Thesis advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erşan ARSLAN August 2024, xii + 72 pages The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 8-week pilates exercises on posture, balance, functional movement and quality of life. The study included 41 sedentary women aged 18-35 years (age: 27.34 ± 5.45 years, height: 164.26 ± 5.63 cm, body weight: 61.46 ± 13.97 kg, body mass index: 22.75 ± 4.96 kg.m2) paricipated voluntarily. The control group consisted of 20 participants and the pilates group consisted of 21 participants. Participants were randomly selected for the groups. 8-week pilates intervention has statistically significant effects on posture (p < 0.05), balance right (p = 0.007) and balance left (p = 0.000), functional movement (p = 0.007). While statistically significant effects were observed in the pilates group in the quality of life variable (p < 0.05), there were statistically positive effects on the physical role and pain variables in the pilates group before and after the study. These findings underline the importance of pilates exercises to improve posture, balance, functional movement and quality of life of sedentary individuals. Keywords: Sedentary, Pilates, Balance, Quality of Life