Is pilates better than other exercises at increasing muscle strength? A systematic review

Our objective was to verify the effectiveness of Pilates method compared against other exercise modalities for muscle strength increase, balance and flexibility. METHOD: Databases used and its respective results were: CENTRAL (n = 456), CINAHL (n = 291), EMBASE (n = 313), PEDro (n = 176), PUBMED (n = 236), SCIELO (n = 98), SPORTDiscus (n = 197) e Web of Science (n = 150). It included randomized controlled studies using Pilates and others exercise modalities that measured muscle strength. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included for analysis. The mean methodological quality score of these studies, evaluated by the PEDro scale, was 6 ± 1. For the primary outcome, not being observed this difference for dynamic force (SMD = -0.29; 95%IC -0.69; 0.10), isometric (SMD = 0.20; 95%IC -0.06; 0.47) or resistance (SMD = -0.19; 95%IC -0.46; 0.07). For secondary outcomes, there was no difference for balance and flexibility. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, there is very low to low evidence that there is no difference between Pilates and other exercise modalities for dynamic strength, isometric strength, resistance strength, balance and flexibility.