Comparison of satisfaction, motivation, flexibility and delayed onset muscle soreness between modern Pilates method and unstable Pilates method

ABSTRACT The aim of our study was to compare the satisfaction and motivation for the practice of exercise, flexibility and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in healthy participants after exercises in two types of the Pilates method. For this, 50 healthy participants performed a session of exercises of modern Pilates and other of unstable Pilates. We evaluated the outcomes for satisfaction and motivation after sessions, posterior flexibility of the torso and lower extremities (sit-and-reach box) before and after each session, and DOMS 24, 48 and 72 hours after each session (Numeric Pain Rating Scale). Results showed no statistically significant difference between both types of Pilates for satisfaction and motivation, flexibility and DOMS 72 hours after the session (p>0.05). Regarding the DOMS we observed statistically significant difference between the two types 24 hours (difference between the means: -0.7; 95%CI: -1.5 to 0.0) and 48 hours (difference between means: -0.8; 95%CI: -1.4 to -0.2) after the session, with greater pain in unstable Pilates. As a conclusion, both categories of Pilates showed the same level of satisfaction and motivation and similar flexibility gain. However, unstable Pilates caused more DOMS after 24 and 48 hours, but this difference was not clinically relevant.