Lecture for Physical Therapists and Pilates instructors
I had the pleasure of giving a presentation on integrating physical therapy and pilates at Park Meadows Pilates and Physical Therapy with my good friend Lisa Kelly. I had a great time with this excellent group. They were very welcoming and open minded.
We discussed how the therapeutic exercises that we perform in physical therapy can help with an eventual Pilates workout, or even complement Pilates exercises. It was a lot of fun, because we are all seeing similar things in the clinic, and we were able to talk about some of the ways to address these issues, whether it be low back pain, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, sciatica, neck pain, shoulder pain, or even just poor “core” strength.
These problems often times come about because people are not in a good alignment, and have difficulty staying that way. I was able to focus on why that happens and what we can do about it. At the end of the lecture my friend Lisa Kelly, who is an excellent physical therapist, gave a very nice demonstration on how this can apply in the clinic. I was very happy to have the chance to speak with this group because I feel that it is important to integrate with other professionals so that when a patient is done with therapy and would like to continue with an activity, we have somewhere for them to continue.
Plateaued in Pilates?
My brand of physical therapy can be very helpful for those in Pilates classes that have plateaued. I’ve treated plenty of folks who have been working for months on trying to get a certain muscle stronger, or to fire at the right time. Unless a patient has a severe injury there is usually no reason for them to stop their time in Pilates. I have found that by treating a mechanical dysfunction with a manual approach and very specific exercises I can help to restore the proper alignment. This proper alignment then allows the muscles to be in an optimum position to fire. Which then helps the patient to achieve the results they want and get over that rough hump.