Assessing the Effect of 12 Weeks of Pilates and Aquatic Exercise on Muscle Strength and Range of Motion in Patients with Mild to Moderate Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive and degenerative disorder of the central nervous system with four main symptoms of bradykinesia, tremor, muscular rigidity, and postural instability. Objectives: The effect of 12 weeks of Pilates and aquatic exercise on muscle strength and range of motion (ROM) in male patients with Parkinson's disease was assessed in this article. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 25 male patients reporting to Al-Zahra Hospital, Isfahan, were selected randomly and grouped in Pilates (n = 7), Aquatic exercise (n = 10), and Control (n = 8). The experimental groups received 1-hour sessions of training three times a week for 12 weeks. Muscle strength and ROM of each patient was measured through the Biodex Isokinetic System 3 before entering the study and after the final assigned session. Results: Pilates and Aquatic exercise groups had a significant improvement in ROM, while no significant difference was observed in the control group. Muscle strength and ROM increased significantly in the experimental groups compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The effect of Pilates on muscle strength was not significant (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Non-pharmacological modalities could be contributive in the patients with Parkinson's disease recovery and lead to significant improvements in their physiological parameters of muscle strength and ROM. Next to the pharmacological treatments, patients could benefit from inexpensive and readily available options like Pilates and aquatic exercises to alleviate the disease symptoms. Further studies should be run to reveal the aforementioned and plausible benefits of these complementary activities.