Effect of Eutonia, Holistic Gymnastics, and Pilates on body posture for pre-adolescent girls: Randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: Postural changes frequently occur in pre-adolescent girls, with sedentary lifestyle with reduced physical activity level as one of the risk factors.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Eutonia, Holistic Gymnastics, and Pilates on body posture in pre-adolescent girls.

Methods: A randomized prospective quantitative clinical trial was conducted. The study included girls aged 10-13 years and compared the effects of Eutonia, Holistic Gymnastics, and Pilates on body posture. The sample comprised 80 girls divided into three intervention groups as follows: Eutonia group, 26 girls; Holistic Gymnastics group, 27 girls; and Pilates group, 27 girls. Ten sessions of 1 h each were conducted on a weekly basis. Static posture was analyzed using the Postural Analysis Software SAPO; dynamic posture, using the modified Layout for Assessing Dynamic Posture LADy; and lifestyle, using the Body Posture Evaluation Instrument Back PEI questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) by Kruskal-Wallis' averages test at 5% significance level (p < 0,05).

Results: The results showed that the three body movement practices improved the head inclination in the frontal plane (1,49°) and pelvic anteversion in the right (1,9°) and left profiles (2,09°). In addition, 25% of pre-teens started to carry their school bag correctly, improving their posture.

Conclusion: The body movement practices of Eutonia, Holistic Gymnastics, and Pilates improved head inclination, pelvic anteversion, and the correctness rate of carrying the schoolbag.