Pilates

What is Pilates

Pilates is a form of movement derived from yoga that promotes body awareness while optimizing personal physical performance by addressing the physical imbalances in one’s body.

Pilates’ Role in Rehabilitation

Pilates can be a powerful tool during rehabilitation as it aims to decrease faulty movement patterns, enhance range of motion and improve ideal recruitment of correct muscles during functional movement.

There are several principles Pilates uses for success:

• Breathing
• Axial Elongation and Core Control
• Spinal articulation  or movement
• Organization of the head, neck and shoulders
• Alignment and Weight Bearing of Extremities
• Movement Integration

PT’s can marry these principles with the depth of knowledge they attain throughout schooling and obtain strategies to design a whole-body experience individualized to their patients. The Pilates concept is heavily founded on the concept of training a person’s core. By strengthening and recruiting the deep stabilizing muscles surrounding the spine, the body will have a strong center for which the limbs can move from leading to decreased injuries and musculoskeletal problems. Pilates offers a gentle, yet effective approach to therapy allowing patients to gain a better understanding of where their body is in space during movement and may offer a more positive experience to functional exercises and activities during a patient’s healing process.

For best results, patients should dress in form-fitting flexible clothing.