At the Art of Healing we strongly recommend Pilates for anyone recovering from an injury, who wants to get the most out of their sport and activity, or anyone who uses their body on a daily basis – in short – it’s good for everybody!
It’s a form of low impact, whole body exercise that has revolutionised in the last twenty years from Joseph Pilates’s 34 key mat exercises into countless exercises performed on specific spring based machines (known as reformers); that either assist flexibility or resist strength which greatly enhances the benefits of Pilates.
Top reasons to take up machine-based Pilates:
- Increase and maintain whole body muscle strength. A good Pilates class won’t just work your ‘core’ for an hour – you should leave feeling like you’ve worked your whole body. Muscle strength is essential at all ages in order to condition our bones, joints and muscles to tolerate the physical demands of daily life. Pilates machines such as the reformer have springs that can apply resistance to key movements, strengthening our weak points and improving our stability.
- Optimise flexibility and mobility. Pilates machines can assist users into greater ranges of motion safely and with control, which in time will increase the flexibility of muscles and joints. Pilates is excellent particularly for sports people, optimising their mobility to allow them to generate more power and reduce their chances of overstraining and causing injury. You should leave a Pilates class feeling more light and limber!
- Injury prevention. Many people come to Pilates for general wellbeing and day to day injury prevention. Many also come to supplement their current exercise regimes and keep themselves fit for their respective sports; we see countless runners, footballers and racket sport players. Whatever your sport, there’s a role for Pilates in your conditioning. Injury prevention is far superior to injury management!
- Improve balance & co-ordination. Controlled exercises with Pilates machines allow for better coordination and neuromuscular control – simply put – they allow us to move better and this translates into improved performance in our sports and daily lives.
- Low impact. Pilates exercises are ideal for those returning to exercise from injury, or during pregnancy – or as a supplemental activity to a higher impact sport.
At the Art of Healing we have a dedicated Pilates and rehab suite with experienced instructors who work closely with our team of physios and osteopaths to ensure your optimal recovery. Give us a call to book a session with one of them now!
Why should I see an osteopath/physio if I have lower back pain?
Lower back pain affects almost everybody at some point in their lives and can be incredibly uncomfortable. However, the vast majority of back pain gets better and does not require any invasive treatment. Sometimes there’s a clear cause for the problem, but sometimes it comes out of the blue. Muscles, nerves or joints in the area can become irritated but there is usually no significant or long-term damage to any of these structures.
The most common symptoms include:
- Pain in and around the lower back and hips
- Pain going down the back or front of the legs, usually on one side
- Difficulty with bending and twisting movements, such as putting on your socks or getting out of bed
Other symptoms can include pins and needles or numbness in the legs, again usually on one side.
Symptoms vary from person to person and can vary a lot during the recovery period. Extent of the injury, age and pre-existing conditions can affect the recovery rate. As a result, it may take a few days, several weeks, or months for symptoms to improve.
Do I need a scan of my lower back?
This is a question we hear a lot, and it’s understandable – people want to know exactly which bits of their back are to blame. While this might seem to make sense, we now know that the human body is not as simple as a car with faulty parts. Occasionally a scan will be helpful and can guide treatment, but a lot of the time they don’t really give us any useful information. We also know that if you scan people who don’t have any lower back pain, many of them will have something show up – a bulging disc or a “degenerative” joint. Here are the results from a review done in 2015, broken down by age group:
As you can see, the possibilities for lower back pain are huge and given that scans can be expensive, time-consuming and often less than enlightening, it’s usually best not to have one and get going with osteopathy and physiotherapy instead. A trained musculoskeletal medical professional can still provide you with a full assessment and address the symptoms – building you back up to your normal activities like work and sport as soon as appropriate.
Depending upon the presentation of symptoms and individual differences, treatment will usually consist of:
– Information about your symptoms and what is causing the pain
– Exercises to do at home
– Joint mobilisation techniques
– Soft tissue therapy techniques
- Ways to manage your symptoms and return to normal activity
Are you in a lot of pain and want to get better as soon as possible? If so then why not book in for a consultation with same day, hands on treatment for relief.
