Pilates Instructors’ perspectives, opinions and experiences of the Pilates Method: a focus group study

Background:

Pilates is a comprehensive body-conditioning method directed toward the development of the body and mind [1,2] . Anecdotal reports suggest that Pilates is widely used in physiotherapy practice, however the growing literature-base must be interpreted with caution as many of the studies suffer from poor methodological quality.  Hence, there is a need to inform future well-designed research using information from current practice, explored through qualitative research methodology[3].

Objective:

To explore Pilates instructors’ perspectives, opinions and experiences of Pilates.

Design:

An exploratory, qualitative design, using focus group methodology.

Methods:

All participants were trained in Body Control Pilates (BCP) and currently practicing.  Three focus groups were conducted (n=27) by an independent moderator.  Participant responses were recorded and transcribed verbatim.  Analysis was carried out using the thematic approach.  Ethical approval was obtained for the study.

Results:

Four main themes emerged; these reflected various elements of Pilates: (1) a mind-body link (2) individualised form of exercise (3) lifestyle choice and (4) condition management.  Each participant typically had a wide variety of clients engaging long-term in Pilates, with musculoskeletal disorders the most common reason for use.

Conclusion:

These findings have emphasised the current use of Pilates as an individualised, supervised form of exercise with potential as a long-term condition-management approach.  Further research is needed to further inform the design of clinical trials in Pilates, specifically in relation to the types of participants, specific details of the interventions and use of appropriate and standardised pre- and post- outcome measures.

Support:

This study is funded by The Department for Education and Learning (DEL) as part of a PhD research project.