Natural Therapies Review Update

Research Committee still working in background

We had been reporting on progress with the Natural Therapies Review but other health related issues have sort of gotten in the way. Whilst the review is continuing, it has taken a backseat to Covid-19.

The Research Subcommittee (Hilary Bekmann & Natalie Murray) is still working in the background to be prepared when the important matter of health fund rebates comes back into focus.

One major area where research has been conducted relates to breast cancer. A fabulous systematic review and meta-analysis was published in December 2018, entitled Pilates for women with breast cancer: [with consumer summary] by Pinto-Carral, Molina, de Pedro & Ayan.

The objectives of the study were “to identify and evaluate the characteristics and methodological quality of the studies that have proposed Pilates as a rehabilitation strategy for women with breast cancer and to determine its benefits on health outcomes in this population”.

According to the findings reported in the studies, Pilates had a positive and significant effect on shoulder range of motion, quality of life, pain, and self-reported upper extremity function, as well as on functional status, mood, fitness and upper extremity circumference.

We are hoping that with studies like this, the value of Pilates will be proven to those people who are not yet converts of the Pilates method.

Robyn Rix

Chair, Research Subcommittee

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