Effectiveness of Pilates Versus Multimodal Training in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder associated with reproductive, metabolic and psychological manifestations. Stress, poor sleep quality and menstrual disturbances may adversely affect quality of life. Exercise is an important component of conservative management, but direct comparisons between Pilates and multimodal exercise are limited. Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of pilates and multimodal training on stress, sleep quality and menstrual- related outcomes in womens with PCOS Methods: A comparative interventional study included 40 women with PCOS. Participants were allocated to Pilates training (Group A, n=20) or multimodal training (Group B, n=20) using an odd-and-even allocation method. Perceived stress, sleep quality and menstrual bleeding-related outcomes were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Menstrual bleeding- related oucomes were assessed using the perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10),Pitssburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) AND Menstrual bleeding questionnaire (MBQ), respectively. Both groups undervent a progressive 17- week supervised exercise programme Results: Significant within-group improvements were observed in both groups for PSS-10, PSQI and MBQ (p<0.001). PSS-10 improved from 31.05±4.74 to 22.15±4.32 in Group A and from 32.25±4.39 to 14.10±3.13 in Group B. PSQI improved from 15.50±2.26 to 10.70±2.36 in Group A and from 15.75±2.40 to 5.95±0.83 in Group B. MBQ improved from 31.70±11.14 to 17.25±5.65 in Group A and from 32.15±11.38 to 8.80±3.29 in Group B. Between-group comparisons of post-intervention values were statistically significant for all three outcomes. Conclusions: Both exercise approaches were associated with improvements in perceived stress, sleep quality and menstrual bleeding-related outcomes. In this sample, the magnitude of post-intervention improvement was greater in the multimodal training group.