Pilates exercise focused on ankle movements for improving gait ability in older women

Exercise as a falls prevention strategy in the care of older people

Older people who sustain a fall may experience a range of adverse outcomes, such as distress, injury and loss of independence. Falls increase the risk of frailty and frailty increases the risk of falls. Regular exercise is a pillar of falls prevention and can have extensive benefits for older people's health, well-being and ability to undertake activities they enjoy. As part of the multidisciplinary team, nurses have a pivotal role in implementing exercise-based falls prevention strategies for older people and in encouraging their patients to exercise. This article discusses exercise as a falls prevention strategy in hospital and in the community and supports nurses to develop their knowledge and confidence in promoting exercise in older people.

Benefits of Pilates in the Elderly Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The aim of this systematic review is to collect and summarize the benefits of Pilates in the elderly population (>60 years old), within the current scientific production, assessing its contribution to Healthy Ageing (HA). We used PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis) to select, collect, and analyse this thematic. The methodological procedures were registered in the PROSPERO database. The main results of the studies analysed (n = 30) point to significant differences between the intervention and the control groups in dynamic balance, strength, mobility, functional capacity, risk of falling reduction, and mental and psychological health. Thus, the results showed that Pilates may be beneficial for the health of the elderly. The meta-analysis found statistical differences between means on the dynamic balance (mean difference (MD) = −0.0, 95% CI [−0.71, −0.50]; I2: 0%) and the aerobic capacity and aerobic resistance [(MD) = 38.29, 95% CI [6.82, 69.77]; I2: 0%). Thus, it is concluded that the efficacy of Pilates has been shown in various areas of HA and has proven to be affordable and safe for the majority of people, using just a mat on the floor. Future studies should focus on the analysis of the relationship between the cost and the benefit of a Pilates intervention in the elderly population, to better understand how health costs can be minimized and to contribute to a multidisciplinary and generalized HA. Pilates has practical application for the clinicians, therapists, and health professionals that work with the elderly population.

Dietary assessment and effect of Pilates exercises on quality of life, body composition, and physical fitness in Iranian postmenopausal women

Menopause is an important period of life for women, all of whom experience this natural state. However, awareness of the bodily changes during this period is of great significance. Hence, not paying attention to the dietary, physical, and psychological criteria can reduce the quality of women’s lives. This study aimed to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL), body composition, and physical fitness in postmenopausal women after Pilates exercises. Thirty postmenopausal Iranian women were randomly divided into Pilates (performed for 8 weeks) and control groups. The HRQoL Questionnaire (SF-12) was filled out, and a three-day record of food intake was also kept for dietary assessment. The diet of the women consisted of mean values of 1,923 Kcal daily energy, 16% protein, 72% carbohydrate, 12% fat, and 11.32 mg iron. Calcium, zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin E intake were respectively 73, 87.5, 81.7 and 83.53% of the recommended daily allowance. Pilates exercises had a significant effect on flexibility (P=0.002), endurance (P=0.001), muscle strength (P=0.001), body mass index (P=0.001), lean mass (P=0.003), body fat percentage (P=0.001), and quality of life (P=0.001). Therefore, Pilates is an appropriate training to increase body fitness and improve body composition, lean mass, and quality of life in postmenopausal women.

Design and Validation of Rule-Based Expert System by Using Kinect V2 for Real-Time Athlete Support

In sports and rehabilitation processes where isotonic movements such as bodybuilding are performed, it is vital for individuals to be able to correct the wrong movements instantly by monitoring the trainings simultaneously, and to be able to train healthily and away from the risks of injury. For this purpose, we designed a new real-time athlete support system using Kinect V2 and Expert System. Lateral raise (LR) and dumbbell shoulder press (DSP) movements were selected as examples to be modeled in the system. Kinect V2 was used to obtain angle and distance changes in the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle during movements in these movement models designed. For the rule base of Expert System developed according to these models, a 28-state rule table was designed, and 12 main rules were determined that could be used for both actions. In the sample trainings, it was observed that the decisions made by the system had 89% accuracy in DSP training and 82% accuracy in LR training. In addition, the developed system has been tested by 10 participants (25.8 ± 5.47 years; 74.69 ± 14.81 kg; 173.5 ± 9.52 cm) in DSP and LR training for four weeks. At the end of this period and according to the results of paired t-test analysis (p < 0.05) starting from the first week, it was observed that the participants trained more accurately and that they enhanced their motions by 58.08 ± 11.32% in LR training and 54.84 ± 12.72% in DSP training.