Pilates for Pain Management, Rehabilitation and Strength – APPI America

Recognition for Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation

The medical world has now realized the benefits of Pilates for injury prevention and rehabilitation. 80% of adults will experience back pain at some stage in their life. When left unmanaged, a high proportion of people will continue to experience further episodes of back pain in future years. One key to preventing recurrences is to rehabilitate and re-train the deep abdominal, pelvic and spinal stability muscles to dynamically support the spine throughout movement.

Though Pilates originated as a fitness method, the recognition of its improvements to muscle imbalances and benefits to rehabilitation make it an essential part of any comprehensive wellness program. Athletic trainers, physical therapists and occupational therapists alike are steadily incorporating more Pilates into client care. Let’s take a closer look at why.

Pilates Techniques & History

Joe Pilates’ original sequence is of 34 mat exercises. Posture, movement, repetition of the exercises and breath are all crucial to Pilates – these four elements work together to give you the most of your practice. Invented by a man, Pilates is designed for everyone. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced Pilates practitioner, you can get the most of this practice.

Exercises like The 100, Criss-Cross, and Single Leg Circles each focus on core strength and circulation. There are Ab & Oblique curls and Roll Ups, Spinal Twists, and Swimming circuits. Each of these require the use of a full body range of muscles, and help to lengthen and strengthen the spine in the process.

Like yoga, the moves in Pilates will help build balance and strength, but Pilates and yoga are not the same thing. They are, perhaps, in the same family, but yoga is more focused on flexibility and improving the joints, while Pilates focuses on muscle relaxation combined with strengthening the numerous muscles of the body.

Rehabilitation & Strength

Pilates puts the power in the students’ hands when it comes to rehabilitation. Muscular imbalances are typically the culprit when it comes to most injury in the body. The main reason for these imbalances? Your core.

From our posture to how we walk, sit, rest, work out, we don’t always move with awareness. Because of this, we can put too much pressure on the spine, which will in turn throw off the muscular strength in the front of back of the body.

A weak core often plays a huge role in this muscular imbalance, and that’s where Pilates starts: by building core strength. The core is known as the center of the body for good reason. Its deep abdominal muscles are closest to the spine, and when those muscles are weak so is everything supported around it. By strengthening the core, alignment can find its natural base, while building a stronger foundation for when you move (and where you move from).

When you add in the flexibility that Pilates naturally builds (along with the ease of building/increasing/upping resistance in the exercises as you move from beginner to advanced) you end up with a highly effective way to rehabilitate your body. Strength is inevitably a bi-product of the Pilates exercises.

Pilates is one of the world’s fastest growing fitness practices, with millions of people having fallen in love with the versatility of these exercises. The long-term appeal and overall benefits of Pilates are numerous, and the results leave people feel better and keep them coming back for more.

In the past decade, Pilates has moved far beyond being practiced only inside studios. Thanks to increased focus on core training, integrative exercise and mind-body connectivity, Pilates is frequently being used for pain management, rehabilitation and strength programs by people of all ages.

Pilates Impact Lasts All Day

Did you know one hour of Pilates burns calories all day long? All. Day. Long. Why? Because the essence of Pilates is resistance training, which is scientifically proven to create lean muscle, boost your metabolism, and enable your body to burn calories… all day long.

Rather than being done burning calories once you have completed your Pilates workout, as soon as you’re done you start burning them. Moreover, Pilates is a full body workout, and each body part is used in every exercise. You use your body’s resistance is what helps to make the exercise more or less challenging. This makes it easier for people to grow and evolve their workout in their own time.

Let Us Be Your Guide

It’s crucial when practicing to follow proper alignment instruction for all Pilates exercises. That’s where GHE comes in. Browse our courses, DVDs, & books below to find the right instruction for you.

This content was originally published here.