Pilates Dosage in Rehabilitation of Patients With Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Scoping Review.

CONTEXT Pilates exercise is commonly used in the rehabilitation of individuals with musculoskeletal conditions, but dosing parameters for optimal outcomes are unclear. Large variations exist in Pilates-based protocols, and research related to specific dosing is sparse. OBJECTIVE To identify optimal dose parameters of Pilates exercise when applied to the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal conditions. DATA SOURCES English-language articles published up to February 2023, in the PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Pedro databases. STUDY SELECTION Articles where patients 20-60 years old with musculoskeletal conditions received a Pilates-based exercise intervention and reported quantification of treatment dose. A total of 72 full-text articles were assessed, with 14 meeting inclusion criteria. STUDY DESIGN Scoping review. DATA EXTRACTION Two investigators (A.P.S., G.K.) independently identified all proposed Pilates-based protocols and outcome measures from the included studies. RESULTS From the 1667 references initially found in 4 databases, 14 studies were included of which 13 were randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental (612 patients) and 1 was a Cochrane review (19,642 patients). Eight studies were of high methodological quality. The most frequent musculoskeletal condition examined was chronic low back pain. Pilates dosage regarding total intervention duration ranged from 6 to 16 weeks, but the most frequent duration reported was 8 weeks and 2 to 3 sessions per week with sessions lasting 50 to 60 minutes. CONCLUSION This review suggests that there are clinically relevant Pilates dosing parameters that result in improved outcomes for patients with musculoskeletal disorders.