Effect of Pilates Exercise Versus Circuit Exercise Training on Gestational Hypertension

NCT ID: NCT06618521

Last Updated: 2025-12-19

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 69 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2025-10-31

Brief Summary

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of Pilates exercises versus circuit exercise training on blood pressure and lipids in gestational hypertensive women.

Detailed Description

Gestational hypertension is one of the most common disorders seen in human pregnancies. The disorder progresses into pre-eclampsia, a dangerous condition that can prove fatal to expectant mothers. If it is untreated several complications result such as eclampsia, stroke, the need for labor induction and placental abruption, preterm delivery, and low birth weight.

Most pregnant women use medication during pregnancy despite increasing availability of information about teratogenic risks. Medication use during pregnancy still causes uncertainty and concern among pregnant women and their health care providers. Medication use has a harmful effect on the fetus such as congenital anomalies, preterm birth, low birth weight, growth retardation of the fetus, and developmental delays in totality. It remains unknown what the major concerns are among pregnant women regarding medication use.

Health organizations recommend lifestyle changes that include increased levels of physical activity. Also, some researchers have recommended aerobic training for 30 minutes per day that is supplemented with resistance exercise.

Pilates exercises have been showed to be safe modality for pregnant women. It showed many benefits on childbirth. It also yields a significant decrease in clinical systolic and diastolic and mean blood pressure at rest and over 24 hours, in hypertensive non-pregnant women. Pilates may be recommended as a non-drug intervention for the prevention, treatment, and control hypertension. Circuit exercise training is also a non-drug intervention may reduce systemic arterial hypertension to lower cardiovascular risk.

Due to the progressive increase in maternal estrogen with pregnancy, maternal fat deposits switch from anabolic to catabolic states to maintain appropriate development of the fetus and placenta. This switch to catabolism increases the breakdown of fat stores, which increases total cholesterol and triglyceride available for maternal and fetal utilization. Further, it is essential for a normalized maternal lipid profile to ensure healthy fetal development and pregnancy outcomes.

Therefore, this study will be conducted to provide evidence based for the effectiveness of Pilates exercise and circuit training on blood pressure and lipid profile in gestational hypertensive women for healthcare providers interested in women's health.

Conditions

Gestational Hypertension

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Anti-hypertensive drug + Circuit exercise training

It consists of 23 pregnant women. They will be engaged in a supervised circuit training exercises for 40 minutes/ day, 3 days/week, for 12 weeks, in addition to Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg according to physician instructions.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Each women in the three groups will receive Medical treatment Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg) according to physician instructions.

Circuit exercise training

Intervention Type: OTHER

Each women in group C will receive circuit training exercises in form of single leg curl up and press, sumo squat and row to reverse fly stand for 40 minutes/ day, 3 days/ week, for 12 weeks beginning 20 weeks' gestation. The Circuit exercise training includes sumo squat, quadruped extension, row to reverse fly stand, and single leg curls up.

Anti-hypertensive drug

It consists of 23 pregnant women. They will take Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg according to physician instructions).

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Each women in the three groups will receive Medical treatment Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg) according to physician instructions.

Anti-hypertensive drug + Pilates exercise

It consists of 23 pregnant women. They will be engaged in Pilates exercise for 40 minutes/day, 3 days/week, for 12 weeks, in addition to Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg according to physician instructions.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Each women in the three groups will receive Medical treatment Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg) according to physician instructions.

Pilates exercise

Intervention Type: OTHER

Each women in the second group will receive Mat Pilates training exercise for 40 minutes/ day, 3 days/week, for 12 weeks beginning 20 weeks' gestation. The Pilates exercise includes pelvic floor exercise, deep tummy strengthening, pelvic tilt, upper back stretch, the cat stretch, thigh stretch, the sword, sword arm, and wagging the tail.

Interventions

Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg)

Each women in the three groups will receive Medical treatment Anti-hypertensive drug (Methyldopa 250 mg) according to physician instructions.

Intervention Type: DRUG

Pilates exercise

Each women in the second group will receive Mat Pilates training exercise for 40 minutes/ day, 3 days/week, for 12 weeks beginning 20 weeks' gestation. The Pilates exercise includes pelvic floor exercise, deep tummy strengthening, pelvic tilt, upper back stretch, the cat stretch, thigh stretch, the sword, sword arm, and wagging the tail.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Circuit exercise training

Each women in group C will receive circuit training exercises in form of single leg curl up and press, sumo squat and row to reverse fly stand for 40 minutes/ day, 3 days/ week, for 12 weeks beginning 20 weeks' gestation. The Circuit exercise training includes sumo squat, quadruped extension, row to reverse fly stand, and single leg curls up.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Methyldopa 250 mg

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• They will be diagnosed by obstetrician after 20 weeks' gestation as having blood pressure higher than 140/90 without any organ damage.
• Age will range from 25-35 years old .
• Body mass index (BMI) will range from 30-34.9 Kg/m².

Exclusion Criteria

• Cardiac problems
• Cognitive problems
• Poorly controlled hypertension
• Diabetes mellitus
• Inflammatory stage of arthritis
• Osteoporosis

• Minimum Eligible Age: 25 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Cairo University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Heba Hamed Ibrahim ElMorsy

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Abeer Mohamed Eldeeb, PhD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Professor, Cairo university

Doaa A. Osman, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Assistant Professor, Cairo University

Hossam E. Hussein, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Professor, Al-Azhar University

Locations

Cairo University

Giza, , Egypt

Countries

Egypt

Other Identifiers

P.T.REC/012/004254

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id