Objective: This study intended to examine the effects of Pilates exercise on pain, cardiorespiratory fitness, functional ability, and quality of life in children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Methods: Forty children with polyarticular JIA aged 10–14 years old were randomly allocated into two groups: the control group (n = 20) received conventional physical therapy (CPT), and the experimental group (n = 20) received clinical Pilates exercises combined with CPT. Patients in both groups received their program three times/week for 3 months. Pain, cardiorespiratory fitness, functional ability, and quality of life were assessed through the visual analogue scale, cardiopulmonary exercise test, 6 min walk test, and PedsQL scale, respectively, just before and after treatment. Results: Pain (p = 0.001), cardiorespiratory markers (all p < 0.05), functional ability (p = 0.002), and overall quality of life (p = 0.007) improved significantly in the experimental groups compared to the control group. Conclusion: Incorporating Pilates exercises into CPT is likely more effective for decreasing pain intensity, improving cardiorespiratory fitness, augmenting functional ability, and promoting quality of life in children with JIA than CPT alone.

Aim: This work aimed to study the influence of two chronic health conditions, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Saudis. Method: The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) health status questionnaire was used to measure the HRQoL and compare the mean scores of the questionnaire subscales and physical and mental component summaries (PCS and MCS) of 33 patients with MetS, 18 patients with MSDs, and 30 apparently healthy (AH) subjects. Regression analysis was used to measure the prediction power of the study group, age and gender of the participants in estimating the HRQoL. Results: Results showed that the mean scores of the physical subscales, the PCS, the mental subscales and MCS were arranged in descending order from AH subjects, patients with MetS, to patients with MSDs. The mean scores difference among the 3 study groups were statistically significant with the only exception for the general mental health (GMH) subscale (P = 0.404). The study group and age accounted for 41.8% of the variability of PCS while the study group accounted for 19.6% of the variability in the MCS. The resulted equation to estimate the PCS score was as follows: PCS = 113.18 -12.85 (Group: 0 for AH, 1 for MetS, and 2 for MSDs) -0.67 age. On the other hand the resulted equation to estimate the MCS score was as follows: MCS = 76.203 -10.426 (Group: 0 for AH, 1 for MetS, and 2 for MSDs). Conclusion: Patients with MetS and patients with MSDs had lower HRQoL than AH subjects. All the physical and mental dimensions of HRQoL are negatively influenced with MetS and with MSDs with the only exception for the GMH subscale. The physical and mental burden of MSDs is more dominant. The study group and age can be used to predict the PCS while the study group can be used to predict the MCS.