Pilates
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a method of exercise and physical movement designed to stretch, strengthen and balance the body. It is an innovative system connecting the mind and body that was developed from the principles of German-born Joseph Pilates. He brought it to the United States in 1926.
Pilates provides numerous benefits including increased lung capacity and circulation through deep breathing, improved coordination, relaxation, improved posture and balance. It also focuses on strength and flexibility, particularly in the back, stomach, hips and buttock muscles. Bone density and joint health improve, and many experience positive body awareness for the first time ever.
Pilates focuses on whole-body integration, rather than isolated muscle strengthening. It also adheres to the principles of proper alignment and movement from the core. Pilates can help guide you in properly aligning the spine and positioning each joint, and it can teach how to engage or relax muscles and coordinate actions.
Why is it used in Physical Therapy treatment?
Pilates performed in the rehabilitation setting is very different from that in a gym setting or seen on a video. Our emphasis is to teach our patients to perform each exercise with precision while focusing on the coordination of breathing with each exercise, maintaining the correct spinal alignment, postural elongation, relaxation and reducing overuse of extraneous muscles. With its low impact exercises and emphasis on the abdominal area, patients can work around injuries and physical limitations.
The founder of Polestar Pilates is Brent Anderson, PT, Ph D who owns and operates a Pilates/Physical Therapy facility in Florida. Polestar offers specific Pilates certification training for licenses professionals only, as well as separate training for fitness experts. Pilates for Rehabilitation teaches the therapist how to break down patients movement patterns, identify muscles weaknesses and imbalances and to focus the exercises to changes these problems. This therapeutic modality may be used as an adjunct to treatment for those with osteoporosis or osteopenia (visit our osteoporosis page), chronic back or neck pain stemming from degenerative disc or joint disease, stenosis, spondylolysthesis, scoliosis, post surgical procedures, fibromyalgia, pre or post-natal pain, neurological conditions such as MS or Parkinson's disease, generalized weakness or general balance problems. Pilates has been an excellent addition to our physical therapy practice.
The goal of Pilates in the rehab setting is to teach SAFE strengthening and PAINFREE movement with exercise. We focus on stabilizing the dysfunctional or problematic areas of the spine, mobilize those areas around it and facilitate muscle contraction and strength around the injured segment(s). We also teach movement strategy so each person can feel where the movement should and should not originate from and teach exercises and strategies to carry this on over the life span. Brent says, "If it's painful, it's not Pilates".
Brent likes to think of Physical Therapists as Patho-Kinesiologists, meaning we can assess and treat any pathology that interferes with movement. As Physical Therapists, we have the skills and training to identify where the problem lies and address it by utilizing manual therapy techniques along with the Pilates exercises that specifically focus on rehabilitating the area of dysfunction.
What is the training required to become Certified in Pilates for Rehabilitation?
As stated above, only licensed therapists can attend Polestar's Pilates for Rehabilitation 8 month training program. This is why Trisha Hopps, PT, CPI, co-owner of this facility chose this program. Although she had been a PT for 15 years before starting her training in Pilates, Trish wanted to be sure she was equipped with the skills and knowledge to incorporate it into her patient's treatment program safely and effectively. Trish began her training in January 2006. One weekend each month she traveled to Santa Cruz, California to attend 16-20 hour vigorous training developed by Brent Anderson, PT, founder of Polestar. In order to achieve full certification, the students are required to complete a written and practical exam of what was learned in the course, spend 40 hours observing Polestar-trained physical therapists working with patients, perform 240 hours of exercise self-mastery practice and another 200 hours of apprentice teaching before receiving certification. Trish received her certificate of completion in January, 2007.
Before Trish started incorporating Pilates into our practice, we were seeing only fair compliance and results from the core exercises we were teaching our patients. Now that we have the understanding of true Pilates exercises, our patients are loving not only learning the exercises, but are continuing on with their strengthening after therapy is done and the outcomes we have seen in our patient have been fabulous.
Our extensive patient education in proper body mechanics utilizing the Pilates and other rehabilitation principles will help people prevent future injuries and improve their overall mobility and quality of life in the long run. This is done by learning to engage the correct muscles on the core and the spine, maintaining the proper spinal alignment and breathing correctly, while improving posture, flexibility and coordination. These aspects are not the focus of the "Pilates Classes" at the local gym.
Is there risk of injury when performing Pilates exercises?
Yes, if it is not performed properly! One must learn about the concepts of Pilates to be able to do the exercise without injury. Our Pilates instructors work individually with our patients working both on the mat and with the specialized Pilates equipment, to progress each person to maximum function. The patients can continue performing the exercises after they are discharged from physical therapy to maintain the strength they acquired during their time at the clinic. They may also choose to continue Pilates exercises in our ongoing Mat classes.
The progress Trish and the other therapists have seen in their patients have been fantastic. Most people are apprehensive because they hear "Pilates" and think it's a very difficult form of exercise. Many have tried it "at the gym" and have injured themselves in the past because they were not using precise, quality techniques. However, once they begin to learn the exercises properly, they become excited about the improvements and discover that they have a greater ease in performing daily activities.
See our Links page for more information on Pilates and its benefits.
