The Effect of Pilates on Muscle Strength, Balance Performance, Gross Motor Skills, Social Skills in Children With ASD

Aydin Adnan Menderes University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Autism

Treatments: Other: Pilates training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05458466

Alinazan

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this randomized controlled study was to determine the effects of Pilates Training by comparing the effects of Aerobic Training on muscle strength, balance performance, gross motor skills and social skills in children with autism.

As a result of this study Aerobic Training and Pilates Training are both effective in the improvement of balance performance and gross motor skills in children with autism, with more improvement in muscle strength in Aerobic Training. Pilates Training could be considered as an alternative training to increase physical activity in children with autism.

Full description

The purpose of this randomized controlled study was to determine the effects of Pilates Training by comparing the effects of Aerobic Training on muscle strength, balance performance, gross motor skills and social skills in children with autism.

As a result of this study Aerobic Training and Pilates Training are both effective in the improvement of balance performance and gross motor skills in children with autism, with more improvement in muscle strength in Aerobic Training. Pilates Training could be considered as an alternative training to increase physical activity in children with autism.

This study will answer whether pilates practice has an effect on Muscle Strength, Balance Performance, Gross Motor Skills and Social Skills in Children With Autism.

Demographic information of the participants was recorded.Muscle strength for shoulder flexors, hip flexors and knee extensors were performed with Hand-held dynamometry.The one-legged standing test was used to evaluate static balance performance.Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMT-2) was used to evaluate gross motor skills of participants. The Autism Social Skills Profile Turkish Form (ASSP- T) was used to evaluate social skills of participants.

Enrollment: 21 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 7 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Being diagnosed with autism,
• Not having physical disabilities or neurological disorders,
• Having the ability to follow the instructions given during evaluations and training,
• Having the ability to perform the requested training

Exclusion criteria

• Not being a volunteer,
• Having a health problem that prevents exercise.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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21 participants in 2 patient groups

Pilates training Group

Experimental group

Description:

The Pilates Training program consisted of warm-up, work-out and cool-down sections. For the warm-up section, breathing, standing roll down, and spine twist exercises were selected; for the work-out section, the hundred, shoulder bridge, scissors, swimming, and quadruped exercises, and for cool-down section, torso twist, cat-camel, and standing stretches. The Pilates Training progression was achieved by increasing the number of repetitions of the selected exercises and adding some equipment (balls, foam rollers) to challenge postural stability. In the first five sessions, after each exercise was performed for six to eight repetitions, the number of repetitions was increased to 10-12. Moreover, the environment where the training took place was carefully arranged according to the needs of children with autism.

Treatment:

Other: Pilates training

Aerobic Training Group

Experimental group

Description:

Each training session consisted of a 20-minutes treadmill workout (using the motorized Ultıma Ac 3500 treadmill) followed by 20-minutes bicycle workout (Voit Yellow Collection 112u exercie bike). The intensity of training, which began at 50% to 60% of maximum heart rate (HR), was increased each week so that by week five, the children were at 75% to 80% maximum HR. The maximum HR, as recommended for children, was calculated using the formula 208 - 0.7 x (age) (Mahon et al., 2010). To ensure that the exercise intensity remained in the target HR zone during training, the child's HR was continuously monitored from the used treadmill and exercise bike monitors.

Treatment:

Other: Pilates training