Effectiveness of Pilates and circuit-based exercise in reducing arthralgia in women during hormone therapy for breast cancer: a randomized, controlled trial

Objective To investigate the effect of Pilates compared with circuit-based exercise in reducing arthralgia in women during hormone therapy for breast cancer. Design Single-blind randomized controlled trial, parallel. Setting University hospital of Brasilia and Brazilian Association for Assistance to People with Cancer. Participants Sixty women with arthralgia were recruited. Eligibility criteria included women complaining of arthralgia during hormone therapy for breast cancer. The exclusion criteria were women with active cancer, lymphedema, limitations to physical exercise, or limitation to answer some questionnaires. Main outcome measures Primary: Pain. Secondary: Function, flexibility, and sleep quality. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and the end of the intervention (8 weeks) by the same blinded evaluator. Intervention Sixty participantswere randomly assigned 20 to each of the three groups: Pilates, circuit-based exercise, and control groups. Exercise was performed twice per week for 75 min, over a period of 8 weeks. Participants in the control group were instructed to continue their usual activities. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to verify the normality of the outcomes. Intergroup differences were calculated using Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc MannWhitney U testing and the parametric data between the three groups with ANOVA of repeated measures with Bonferroni post hoc. Results The Pilates group demonstrated a significant difference in pain reduction compared to the circuit group (mean difference: -1.95 points, p = 0.020). Conclusion Pilates was more effective than circuit-based exercise in reducing arthralgia in women during hormone therapy for breast cancer.