Benefits of Pilates in Physical Therapy
Having practiced physical therapy for 9 years, I felt that I was still missing a skillset that allowed me to effectively treat spinal conditions (back pain, neck pain) with long-term success. I was desperate to find a comprehensive exercise program that I could utilize both in my physical therapy practice and have my patients maintain this method in the long run. In 2015 I visited a friend of mine in NYC, a fellow physical therapist, where she taught pilates in a boutique studio on 5th Avenue. Watching her take a client through a full body equipment based pilates workout inspired me to learn this method. In 2016 I became STOTT certified in pilates method and have been integrating pilates into my physical therapy approach ever since.
One of the key elements of using pilates equipment is the ease of movement. The Reformer was designed to assist people who were not able to do pilates matwork, that requires bodyweight challenging exercises. If you are not able to hold your legs up in the air without back pain, I can modify this exercise on the Reformer by placing my client’s legs in the straps and work on building muscular strength and endurance in this unloaded, dynamic, and supportive environment. Being able to play around with the load on Reformer and Cadillac made a lot of sense to me from a rehabilitation perspective. Most of the pain that we experience is due to our body’s response to load – excessive load on the tissue that is not trained to withstand it, will eventually lead to pain and injury. Pilates equipment allows me to use different angles and loads in such a way that I can create an environment where my clients can feel nurtured and supported in movement while progressing on their own timeline and feeling connected in their body as they develop awareness that they didn’t have before.
The combination of physical therapy and pilates is truly a holistic approach to rehabilitation, injury prevention, and sports performance. My goal with each client is to retrain their body to move in the most efficient manner, which usually requires a biomechanical assessment to identify faulty movement patterns. Once I have a clear understanding of what my client needs, the fun part begins where I start creating a unique and individualized workout program using all of my pilates equipment to my advantage, addressing these 5 vital movement systems in just 60 minutes:
Strength & flexibility
Core stability and endurance
Postural awareness and mindfulness
Balance, proprioception, and coordination
Fascial system rewiring through force transmission
I hope you enjoyed reading and learning how physical therapy and pilates complement each other. I love applying principles of the pilates method with my clients and seeing consistent improvements in their physical performance overtime. If you would like to connect with me to experience this unique exercise approach in your body, click the link below:
Kateryna has a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy with 15 years of clinical experience. She is a STOTT Certified Pilates Instructor and loves to integrate pilates into her physical therapy treatment approach. Her mission is to help you feel and move better for life.
