Rehabilitation and Pilates
source: Balanced Body Rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation
Pilates for Rehabilitation
Pilates, an exercise regimen first developed for rehabilitation in the early 20th century (see Origins), has become a powerful rehab tool with significant benefits for your patients and your practice.
Its focus on movement and breathing brings you new and effective treatment methods. It’s also extremely versatile – the extensive exercise repertoire can be modified to fit the needs of each patient. In addition, Pilates has become an independent revenue source for many rehabilitation and wellness centers.
The Pilates principle of core stabilization addresses posture, muscle performance and motor control – the same concepts that form the basis of most orthopedic rehabilitation and therapy. Physical therapists are using Pilates successfully to treat many common conditions and diseases, including:
- Chronic neck and back pain
- Sciatica
- Shoulder impingement/tendonitis
- Hip bursitis
- Ankle injuries
- Total knee/hip replacements
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Fibromyalgia
- Scoliosis
Please visit our Library for a growing list of publications relating to the use of Pilates in rehab and physical therapy, dance medicine and sports medicine. Some full articles are available for download.
Balanced Body has nearly 30 years of experience creating specialized Pilates equipment for rehabilitation. Our equipment is used by major hospitals, universities, dance centers, rehabilitation clinics, wellness centers and private practitioners worldwide.
Our Clinical Reformer is the #1 choice of rehabilitation practitioners. For more than two decades, we have worked with Pilates rehab specialists to develop the features that make our Clinical Reformer a versatile, practical and safe rehabilitation tool.
“For therapists who offer quality Pilates programs and market them effectively, the future is promising. Patients and clients gain the benefits of strength, flexibility and balance, while the practice can look forward to sustained growth and profitability.”
-Advance for Directors of Rehabilitation magazine, March 2005
“I’m a lineman for a power company and I tore and herniated two discs in my lower back. My back surgeon told me that if had surgery to fix the discs it would likely end my career. I was barely able to move and unable to work for seven months. My doctor suggested Pilates, and in May I began rehab sessions with Chrissy Romani-Ruby at PHI Pilates using Balanced Body equipment. Within four days of starting Pilates I felt relief in my lower back. Within a week and a half I was virtually pain free. Within two months I was back at work.”
Dennis McLaughlin, Bethel Park, PA
“I have found the Balanced Body Studio Reformer to be a great tool in the prevention and rehabilitation for groin and hip injuries over the years…The Reformer allows our players to work the hip and groin muscles through the full range of motion, at a controlled speed, with low impact and progressive resistance. …With a regular reformer program, and exercises on other apparatus attempting to mimic the challenges of the reformer, we have gone three full seasons without time lost to aggravated groin strains. Of course the Reformer is also a great device for core strengthening and we look forward to implementing full programs with our players in the upcoming season. Thanks for providing the health care, sports and fitness community with such an excellent and versatile product.”
André Deloya, MS, PT, CSCS
Director of Rehabilitation, Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx
I have been dealing with major back problems since my 20’s. Now at 46, I hardly ever have back problems and when I feel tightness starting I get in a reformer class always makes its feel a lot better.
I’ve been doing Pilates with Kristen for about five years and it is the therapeutic effect of Pilates which has been most helpful. It seems to take care of those aches and pains – minor and chronic. I walk taller and straighter, have better balance, and feel strong. Kristen’s extensive knowledge about body mechanics makes her a superb teacher. If performing one routine is problematic for a body part, Kristen doesn’t say “ok, we won’t do that today.” Instead she always has an alternate method for accomplishing the same end. Her constant attention to the details of form when doing a routine makes all the difference between a ho-hum workout and outstanding results. And by the way, she has a killer sense of humor.
I just wanted to leave a testimonial about my past work with Kristen at sbpilates. (At the time I was doing the work the website didn’t have a feedback area). I fell out of a window and broke my back when I was 22. I had a metal spine made and a bone graft off my right hip to integrate my new spine. While my metal spine is better than ever I had problems figuring out how to use my body, needing to build muscles in my back to support my spine, and bone scarring from the graft creating slightly uneven hips and weakness and pain in my right hip joint. Kristen completely helped me rework my body and not only reversed all my problems but took my body to a new level of strength and slimness I had not even known was possible! And I even lost the tiny “fat” pocket above my hip bone that I’d had since I was 13 even tho I’d never weighed above 120! I went back to martial arts and ballet with drastically improved balance, flexibility and strength. Allowing me to do things I couldn’t have done before even if I hadn’t broken my back! And I always left the studio feeling as if all the knots had left my body, something that massages couldn’t even accomplish. And as if all of that wasn’t enough, it happened extremely quickly! Within 1 month I was rehabilitated and within 2 months I was in perfect shape. The more time I spent working out the more I kept gaining in every area of my life! Not to mention rocking a body that was better then I imagined. And the topper to all of this is that I have had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since I was 13. Anyone with Fibromyalgia or CFIDS/CFS can do this and it will improve your fatigue and pain. Anyone who’s had a serious injury or surgery should do this and expect rehabilitation! Anyone who’s always wanted that perfect lean toned yet still curvy body, even if you think you already have one, should do this. And if you do any athletic type sport from martial arts to ballet to tennis to skiing to nintendo wii, you will greatly benefit from this training. Even my 64 year old father who coached football for UCSB and works out every day of the week came and took some sessions and benefitted his tennis game! Now he’s added a basic pilates warmup before his 3 mile runs, tennis, or weight lifting work outs. Kristen is amazing and her pilates literally works miracles!! I’m living proof 🙂
Recovering from shoulder and knee surgery was a painful process for me. I’m so thankful to have found Kristen at the SB Pilates Studio. She has helped tremendously with physical routines that have given me back strength in my shoulder and knee. Due to the aging process, I recently started having pain in my hip. Kristen has been able to stop the pain and put me on a program that I believe will prevent any further degeneration in my hip. I’m very grateful for Kristen’s wealth of knowledge in the field of rehabilitation. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to get physically well and staying fit!