An examination of the effects of reformer pilates exercises on the life quality of women diagnosed with fibromyalgia

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of regular reformer pilates exercises on the life quality of women with fibromyalgia. The subjects of this qualitative study were ten volunteer women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and who were regularly doing reformer pilates for at least 3 months. They were selected with typical case sampling and convenience sampling methods. Upon obtaining informed consent from participants, semi-structured and face-to-face interviews were conducted in order to collect data. Descriptive analysis and content analysis were conducted to analyze the raw data obtained from the interviews. The analyzes revealed various codes grouped under common emerging themes. The results showed that doing regular reformer pilates exercises may improve the symptoms related to fibromyalgia and increase the life quality of these patients. The effects of reformer pilates on fibromyalgia patients are presented under five main themes: (1) leisure time, (2) the effect of reformer pilates, (3) sleep quality, (4) situations that reduce the quality of life (5) mood change, and various sub-categories related to these themes.