Pilates With Pizazz

Across the country, a rapidly growing number of physical therapists and their clients have discovered that Pilates, a popular form of body-mind exercise, is tremendously effective for rehabilitating injuries.

The success of Pilates as a fitness program is well chronicled.
The Sporting Good Manufacturers Association reports that the number of North Americans participating in a

Pilates class has grown more than 500 percent in just the past four years.

Now, many physical therapists are turning to Pilates as a primary method of rehabilitation with outstanding

results. It's the Principles , not the Repertoire.

Pilates develops core strength, integrating the trunk, pelvis and shoulder girdle.
By emphasizing proper breathing, correct spinal and pelvic alignment and complete concentration on smooth, flowing movement, clients become acutely aware of how their body feels, where it is in space, and

how to control its movement. Quality of movement is valued over quantity

of repetitions, and proper breathing is essential as it helps execute movements with maximum efficiency.

Pilates for rehab, however, can differ from Pilates the exercise.
I think it is important to clarify Pilates for rehabilitation as not just Pilates,
says Brent Anderson, PT, OCS, president of Polestar Education, a Pilates-based rehabilitation,
fitness and training institute headquartered in Miami, FL.

When you're talking about Pilates for rehab, you're talking about modifying the exercises and working in the
Pilates body-mind environment to be able to facilitate a positive movement experience for your client.

That's the crux of why Pilates is so powerful in the field of rehab, Anderson said, If you use it correctly and are
able to provide that positive movement experience, your client's outcome physically and emotionally

is going to be much greater. It is more about the principles of the exercise than the actual repertoire.

Rob Kopitzke is a PT and co-owner of Body Concepts, Inc., a physical therapy and personal training center

in El Dorado Hills, CA. Body Concepts has both a Pilates studio and a traditional therapy gymnasium.
Client- wise I would say that 80 percent of the time I choose the Pilates studio over the gym, says Kopitzke.
It's a more dynamic environment. It allows for an earlier progression. As the patient gets stronger physically

and mentally, he or she can increase the amount of resistance or difficulty for each exercise.
They can basically go from a non-weight bearing status to a full-blown effort. From that standpoint
it provides a nice progression that other traditional or conventional forms of therapy can't duplicate.

Anderson agreed and explained that with Pilates a PT can create a positive movement experience with an exercise that a patient may even perceive as beyond their capacity. They might look at the equipment

and say "There's no way I can do this", and then they do it, and without pain.

It totally changes the paradigm of the belief model that the movement causes pain. This shift in attitude
is much more powerful than any strength or flexibility measurement

As an example, he points to a recent patient who had tremendous low-back pain for three years.
The patient had been an avid runner and equestrian but was no longer able to do either.
He had also undergone various conventional rehabilitation programs without success. After four visits
using Pilates he was 80-percent pain free. Anderson put him in a lower-back care program

and after only a month, the patient was riding again. He was to the point where he didn't really care about riding
or running anymore, he just wanted the pain gone, Anderson said. Through

Pilates, however, he's changed his perception and is active again.

Pilates can be implemented so gently yet so successfully by a skilled practitioner, that it can completely