The 30-second article
• Around 80% of Australians will suffer
low back pain during their lives
• The slower, more controlled actions
involved in Pilates, yoga and tai chi
make them popular forms of
exercise for people suffering low
back pain
• The efficacy of strength training,
core stabilisation training and
proprioceptive training have also
been evaluated
• Due to variations in the types of
activities, duration and training
loads evaluated, it is hard to
conclude whether any one activity
is more beneficial for helping to
alleviate low back pain, but most
reviews support the stance that
some exercise of most varieties is
better than no exercise.
and be better able to complete the activity.
Common issues associated with these
types of research include a lack of detail
around frequency, intensity and volume of
the activity, which make it hard to prescribe
a specific training guideline for these
activities.
Pilates
Gagnon et al. (2005) and Pereira et al.
(2012) agreed that there was no difference
between the Pilates method and other
lumbar stabilisation training, suggesting the
activities were similar even if the language
used was different. The systematic review
by Patti and colleagues (2015) concludes
by saying that Pilates is more effective than
minimal exercise, but it’s still not clear which
part of the Pilates program actually improves
low back pain. Wells et al. (2014) finish their
review into the effectiveness of Pilates in
people with low back pain by suggesting
future research needs to better define the
actual program so that clearer conclusions
can be drawn about which activity in Pilates
may be the cause of the changes seen.
Yoga
restrict their exercise.
Nearly all scientific systemic reviews and
meta-analyses in the literature show that
using exercise as an intervention results
in significant