Combined Effect of Modified Pilates and Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercises on Gait Speed Test in Hypertensive Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Being hypertension rises the risk of cardiovascular disease among older adults also, hypertension was found to be associated with decrease in walking speed so, studies suggest that exercise training improve physical function through Pilates, Aerobic and resisted exercises.
Objective: To find out the impacts of Mat Pilates training on gait speed, blood pressure, functional status, quality of life along with frailty among hypertensive elderly people.
Patients and methods: 60 hypertensive patients aged 60–75 years were randomly assigned to a control group (CON; n = 30) as well as a Mat Pilates training group (MP; n = 30). The CON individuals engaged in moderate aerobic exercise, whereas the MP group had 30 minutes of Mat Pilates followed by 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise training thrice weekly for a duration of 12 weeks. Parameters including gait speed test, blood pressure, functional status, frailty index along with quality-of-life questionnaire were gathered at beginning and the conclusion of 12 weeks.
Results: The MP group had substantially improved gait speed, reduction in blood pressure and an improvement in quality of life in comparison with the CON group as well as the pre-training period. In conclusion, these findings illustrate the beneficial impacts of 12 weeks of Mat Pilates training, including enhanced gait speed, reduced blood pressure, and improved functional status. Both groups exhibited a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as the frailty index.
Conclusion: The use of modified Pilates with aerobic exercises in conjunction with moderate intensity aerobic exercises resulted in considerable improvements in elderly hypertensive patients gait speed, quality of life, and functional status. Blood pressure and frailty index decreased in both group without differences.