Effects of Pilates Exercise on Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background and purpose: Despite the popularity of Pilates exercises among postmenopausal women, few studies have devoted attention to verifying the effects of the technique on bone mineral density (BMD), and, to date, no systematic review and meta-analysis have been conducted on this topic. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examining the effect of Pilates on BMD.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials were considered eligible, with follow-up of 6 months and more, which verified the effects of Pilates exercise on the BMD of postmenopausal women. The calculations of the meta-analysis were performed through the weighted mean difference between the Pilates exercise and control groups, through the absolute change between pre- and postintervention in the areal bone mineral density.

Results: Three randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Only 1 study presented satisfactory methodological quality. Pilates exercises did not offer significant effects to improve areal bone mineral density of the lumbar spine (0.019 g/cm2 [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.018 to 0.057], P = .32), total hip (0.012 g/cm2 [95% CI, -0.002 to 0.027], P = .10), or femoral neck (0.000 g/cm2 [95% CI, -0.021 to 0.022], P = .97).

Conclusions: Pilates exercises had no significant effects on BMD in postmenopausal women. However, the few studies included in the meta-analysis and the low methodological quality of the majority of the studies do not allow safe extrapolation of the results at this time. More robust randomized controlled trials with high methodological quality are needed so that the results of this meta-analysis can be confirmed.