What Is Pilates?

Pilates is a unique body conditioning exercise that rebalances the body by bringing it into its correct neutral alignment. It targets the deep postural muscles (transversus abdominis and the muscles of the pelvic diaphragm), challenging the core and building strength from the inside out. This helps reshape the body into a leaner, more toned figure, with a balance of strength and flexibility, while relieving unwanted stress and tension.

Pilates is a growing trend in Western countries amongst athletes and celebrities, and is gaining popularity in the treatment of peripheral and spinal musculoskeletal dysfunction. Physiotherapy Pilates is used for general exercise and to treat people with musculoskeletal injuries, and is conducted by a certified Pilates trainer. After an injury or repetitive injuries, a person may have joint stiffness, muscle spasms, poor posture or abnormal movement patterns, so it is important to treat these first before commencing Pilates. The certified trainer will always test your muscle strength and range of movement, so the exercises are appropriate and challenging without being detrimental to recovery or strengthening.

Added Benefit Of Clinical Pilates

The added benefit of clinical Pilates over routine Pilates is that it is more individualised to the person and their problem. It can also be more functional. For instance, if someone wants to return to an activity or sport (swimmer, footballer, dancer), the standard exercises can be modified by the physiotherapist to strengthen the core muscles while carrying out the aggravating movement. A footballer’s core muscles can be challenged as he kicks and dribbles a football, not just in static postures.

What Can Pilates Treat ?

Peripheral Injuries

When dealing with peripheral joint/ muscular injuries e.g. ankle instabilities the ankle is the main focus of the treatment. This makes sense and is always a good place to start to strengthen and rehabilitate local structures. However the research is beginning to move towards looking at the whole picture. Improving an individual dynamic control of their movements, will mean that person is less likely to sustain injuries. There is a growing trend to rehabilitate athletes whilst incorporating pilates-based exercises. This is to teach a person to move more efficiently. Pilates can be used to treat hip, shoulder, knee and ankle injuries.

Spinal Injuries

Pilates in conjunction with manual joint mobilisations and soft tissue release is an effective way to treat back pain. Time and time again the research has shown that any form of back pain leads to a loss of function of the deep muscles (multifidus) of the spine at that level. Unfortunately these muscles do not have the capacity to turn back on again, once the initial episode of back pain has resolved, and therefore these muscles require specific training to reactivate and stabilise the spine. These muscles without exercise will continue to waste further in the long-term. Subsequent muscle spasm in the global and more superficial muscles will also be experienced. This predominately occurs as a mean to stabilise the back in the absence of the deep muscle activity. Such individuals will report recurrent flare ups of back pain in the year due to the ongoing weakness of the spine. In addition to weakness, back injuries usually occur after an extended period of time, in a bad posture, excessively loading the joint.

How Does Pilates Help?

Pilates is a form of exercise that both facilitates the strengthening of these deep muscles whilst educating a person where a neutral spine lies. In time a person will feel that there back is stronger, as they become more aware of what sitting or standing in a good posture entails.

In the long term they will also have the endurance to sustain these better postures for longer periods, through conducting the exercises.

One-to-one sessions with a certified trainer or physiotherapist is initially strongly recommended, especially so for a person who is new to pilates. This is to ensure a person can be taught the correct techniques and the 5 concepts of pilates accurately (breathing, neck, rib pelvis position and stabilizing). Pilates can be tricky and done incorrectly easily. Close supervision is needed to prevent faulty patterns from being learnt.

Benefits Of Pilates

• General fitness and body awareness greater strength and muscle tone

• Improved flexibility

• A flatter stomach

• Improved efficiency of the respiratory, lymphatic and circulatory systems

• Better posture and awareness

• Less incidence of back pain

• Increased joint mobility

• Lower stress level

Which Clients Would Benefit From Pilates?

• Males and females

• Pregnant: Pre and post natal

• Athletes and dancers

• Amputee and stroke rehabilitation clients

• Elderly

• Children aged 12 and above

Pilates therefore targets musculoskeletal injury more specifically. The physiotherapist or certified trainer can identify your posture type, establish the mechanism of injury, understand what you aim to return to and work out which exercises would be of most benefit to you. Clinical Pilates looks at treating the cause. It is also used to select the appropriate repertoire of exercises to strengthen the injured areas, and even for injury prevention. If you are suffering from recurrent episodes of back pain or peripheral injuries, Pilates therapy in Dubai may be just what you need!