PILATES FOR INJURY AND POST-OP RECOVERY

Pilates is extremely popular and many people across the globe take part in Pilates for fun for strength and increased flexibility and much more. There is another side to Pilates which not everyone knows about or even considered and that is Pilates for rehabilitation. If you are suffering from an injury or are recovering from an operation Pilates is an incredibly effective form of rehabilitation.

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​PILATES FOR INJURY PREVENTION

Most people associate injuries from sports and heavy exercise. However, injuries can also occur from lack of use of the muscles and associated weakness for example from desk bound jobs where this can lead to lower back pain, neck pain and shoulder issues to name just a few. When we are in pain the body adjusts and compensates and moves in a way to avoid the pain and discomfort which can put more pressure on one side of the body and other joints and many people function like this without realising that they are creating a muscle imbalance in the body making joints and muscles weaker which can, over time, cause muscle tendon ligament strains and tears.

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​HOW DOES REHABILITATION PILATES DIFFER FROM STANDARD PILATES?

My classes are for all levels and I teach from a basic level right up to more advanced exercises. I encourage my students to listen to their bodies and perform all exercises with control and good technique but it can still be very easy to overdo it and make an injury worse by performing exercises that are too advanced or that are not suitable. It can even feel ok at the time but have an impact later or the next day. Rehabilitation Pilates is on a much more personal level with each exercise modified to fit the persons needs and to give the person the ability to  build up the strength to progress on to more demanding versions of the exercise at a pace that is suited to the injury. This corrects muscle imbalances and strengthening muscles that have weakened through injury.

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​POST-OPERATION REHABILATION PILATES

This works in a similar way to injury recovery Pilates. Starting very gently and slowly to build up strength in the whole body as well as boosting the immune system to aid recovery even further. 

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HOW DOES PILATES DIFFER FROM PHYSIOTHERAPY?

A physiotherapist will give you specific exercises to do to target the injured area and free up tight spots in that area to get you back on to where you were pre injury. However, Physiotherapists are aware that everything in the body is interlinked and connected. Physiotherapists understand that a person needs to have a better understanding of their bodies and how it moves and how it feels in movement, the greater awareness of the body the less likely we are to become injured. As explained earlier Pilates works to strengthen the joints and create more freedom of movement in the joints and the body, Pilates corrects movement patterns which also helps to reduce the risk of injury. The strengthening of the muscles weakened by injury helps to prevent it from reoccurrence which is why so many Physiotherapists advise their patients to take up Pilates. It helps a person to become self-sufficient.