EFFECTIVENESS OF PILATES IN PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL REHABILITATION OF PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/1811-2471.2025.v.i1.15261Keywords:
arterial hypertension, rehabilitation, Pilates, physical endurance, quality of lifeAbstract
SUMMARY. Arterial hypertension (AH) is a serious medical and social problem that limits physical activity and reduces patients’ quality of life. The combination of physical exercises and breathing techniques in Pilates can be an effective rehabilitation method, contributing to the improvement of functional status and social adaptation of patients.
The aim – to study the impact of Pilates on physical endurance, cardiovascular parameters, and social adaptation in patients with stage I arterial hypertension (AH).
Material and Methods. The study involved 40 patients aged 35–45 years, who were divided into two groups. The experimental group (EG) (20 patients) underwent a standard rehabilitation program with the addition of Pilates, while the control group (CG) (20 patients) received only the standard rehabilitation program. The 12-week rehabilitation program included physical therapy, massage, kinesiotherapy, and breathing exercises. The effectiveness assessment was based on the results of the 6-minute walk test, measurements of blood pressure, heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation, and SF-36 questionnaire analysis.
Results. As for the physical endurance, EG patients had the average distance in the 6-minute walk test increase by 20 % (up to 570 m), while in case of CG patients – the increase was only 7 % (up to 470 m). 70 % of EG participants improved their results by more than 20 %, while 50 % of CG patients showed no significant progress. As for the cardiovascular indicators, systolic blood pressure decreased by 15 % (from 145 to 127 mmHg) and diastolic – by 12 % (from 92 to 82 mmHg) in EG patients, while systolic blood pressure reduction was only 5 % (from 147 to 137 mmHg) and diastolic – 5 % (from 92 to 87 mmHg) in CG patients. Regarding social rehabilitation, EG patients showed significant improvement in social functioning scores according to SF-36 (+20 %), while CG patients had only minor changes (+5–7 %).
Conclusions. Adding Pilates to the rehabilitation program for AH patients can contribute to improved physical endurance, stabilization of blood pressure, reduction in HR, and enhanced social adaptation.
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