Pilates is a conditioning routine that may help build flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance in the legs, abdominals, arms, hips, and back. It puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing, and developing a strong core or center, and improving coordination and balance. Pilates' system allows for different exercises to be modified in range of difficulty from beginning to advanced. Intensity can be increased over time as the body conditions and adapts to the exercises.

Photo demonstrating a Pilates Teacher using verbal and tactile feedback to ensure proper form

A 2013 systematic review of systematic reviews found only inconclusive evidence that Pilates was beneficial to people with chronic lower back pain, "small number  and poor methodological quality of primary studies.