Improvements in Adolescents With Back Pain After Pilates (PilatesBack)

The main physical condition factor related to back pain and mobility among adolescents are trunk endurance and hamstring extensibility. The Pilates Method (PM) can be used as a specific exercise technique to train trunk endurance and hamstring extensibility, but there is little evidence regarding its effect in adolescents with a history of back pain. The objective of this study is to determine whether Pilates is effective for improving the trunk endurance and hamstring extensibility of adolescents with a history of back pain and to determine the differences between the sexes. The sample was composed of 52 students with a mean age of 14.44 ± 0.7 years who had suffered back pain during the past year. They were distributed into the Pilates Exercise Group (PEG, n = 26) and the Control Group (CG, n = 26). The Pilates programme was conducted over 6 weeks. For measuring trunk flexion and extension endurance, the bench trunk curl (BTC) test and the Sorensen (SOR) test were used, respectively. Hamstring extensibility was measured with the toe touch (TT) test. After the Pilates intervention, either the whole sample or males and females separately improved significantly (p ≤ 0.05) in the BTC, SOR or TT test.

Back pain during the adolescent years is a precursor to chronic back pain in adulthood. The prevalence of back pain among schoolchildren is growing across the world, and it is similar to that of the adult population. Back pain is the first cause of disability in the world. The main physical condition factor related to back pain and mobility among adolescents are trunk endurance and hamstring extensibility. The Pilates Method (PM) can be used as a specific exercise technique to train trunk endurance and hamstring extensibility, but there is little evidence regarding its effect in adolescents with a history of back pain. The objectives of this study was: a) to analyse the effect of a Pilates programme on trunk endurance and extensibility in adolescents with a history of back pain and b) to determine the differences between the sexes. The present research was a 6-week randomised controlled trial in which adolescents with a history of back pain were randomly assigned to a Pilates-based exercise group (PEG; n = 26) and a control group (CG; n = 26). The sample was composed of 52 students with a mean age of 14.44 ± 0.7 years who had suffered back pain during the past year. They were distributed into the Pilates Exercise Group (PEG, n = 26) and the Control Group (CG, n = 26). The Pilates exercise programme was implemented over 6 weeks, with 2 sessions/week (55 minutes/session). Adolescents assigned to the CG did not receive any structured exercise programme; they just attended their usual Physical Education sessions. The Pilates programme was conducted by the Physical Education teacher, who was certified in Pilates training. The Pilates programme began at the basic level, incorporating more difficult principles and exercises gradually. For measuring trunk flexion and extension endurance, the bench trunk curl (BTC) test and the Sorensen (SOR) test were used, respectively. Hamstring extensibility was measured with the toe touch (TT) test. After the Pilates intervention, either the whole sample or males and females separately improved significantly (p ≤ 0.05) in the BTC, SOR or TT test.

The Pilates exercise programme was implemented over 6 weeks, with 2 sessions/week (55 minutes/session).

Adolescents assigned to the CG did not receive any structured exercise programme; they just attended their usual Physical Education sessions.

The Pilates exercise programme was implemented over 6 weeks, with 2 sessions/week (55 minutes/session). The Pilates programme was conducted by the Physical Education teacher, who was certified in Pilates training. The Pilates programme began at the basic level, incorporating more difficult principles and exercises gradually. The sessions were divided into the warm-up (7 min), the main part (41 min), and the cool down (7 min). Tt concentrated on basic Pilates exercises involving the principal regions of the body (spine flexions, extensions and rotations; hip flexions, extensions and rotations; and shoulder abductions, adductions and rotations).

The bench trunk curl (BTC) test was used to evaluate trunk flexor endurance. The result is register in repetitions numbers. Higher values represent a better outcome.

Isometric trunk extension endurance was measured using the Sorensen (SOR) test. The result is register in seconds. Higher values represent a better outcome.

The toe touch (TT) test was used to evaluate hamstring extensibility. The result is register in centimeters. Higher values represent a better outcome.

Inclusion Criteria: having had a history of back pain last year being physically active in school physical education sessions Exclusion Criteria: presenting any musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiological, metabolic or rheumatic alteration missing more than one session of the programme (91.66% attendance)

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