Abstract
Objective: To verify the influence of Pilates on flexibility, painful symptoms and functional capacity of elderly women. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative research. The sample consisted of 90 elderly women, aged 65 to 75 years, randomly subdivided into groups G1 (Non Physical Exercise-PE practitioners), G2 (Pilates and other PE) and G3 (Practitioners of other PE), undergoing the Back Pain Inventory. , analysis of flexibility (Apley, sitting and reaching-SA) and functional capacity (lifting and walking – LC). In the data analysis we used the descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, Anova Oneway and Kruskal Wallis, with p <0.05. Results: There were significant differences in flexibility between the groups in tests SA1 and SA2 (p <0.001), with better results for G2, although not in the right (p = 0.391) and left (p = 0.076) Apley. Functional capacity was significantly different between groups at the two time points (p <0.001) investigated, as did the painful symptoms presented in the last three months (p = 0.002), last month and week (p <0.001). Conclusion: The elderly women who practiced physical exercise had better flexibility, functional capacity and lower levels of pain symptoms than those who did not, and Pilates participants showed more satisfactory results.