Clinical Pilates

The founder of the principle of the original Pilates was Joseph Pilates born (1880) in Dusseldorf Germany. He was interned on the Isle of Man because he was German during World War I. The moves he invented and practiced were originally named Contrology then later named after him to Pilates. His original 34 moves are still used today although some of them have been slightly modified so they can be more easily practiced.

Clinical Pilates is preformed precise and controlled and with the correct muscle recruitment and firing order. This form of Pilates is scientifically proven to rebalance and realign the body and assist in rehabilitation of injury.

Principles of Pilates

Fitness v Clinical

Definition of posture
Posture is the relative arrangement of the part of the body. Good posture is the state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity. Poor posture is a faulty relationship of the various parts of the body which produce increased strain on the supporting structures and where there is less efficient balance of the body over it's base.

Movement relies on the central nervous system providing both feed forward and feedback motor control.

A body in balance creates no boundaries

Concentration
Breathing
Centring
Control
Isolation
Precision
Flowing Movements
Routine

Effective abdominal training for sport should address trunk stability prior to trunk muscle performance.
Rehabilitation should encourage static deep muscle activation rather than sit ups.
Back pain suffers tend to favour use of the external obliques. They need to dissociate the deeper muscles from the superficial!

When control becomes innate, you have reached the point of mastery.

All movement emanates from the centre, both anatomically and energetically. The path of movement is like the ripple effect that occurs when a pebble is dropped into still water. It creates a circular ripple that in turn creates many more ripples moving outward in progressively larger circles. So each movement starts from the inner core ( the first circle of energy ) and moves outward; the trunk is the second circle of energy, followed by the limbs and finally the periphery, the hands and feet. But don't think of the energy stopping at the fourth circle; it should continue on as if the movement never ends. This is called the follow-through, and it has infinite value in terms of function and aesthetics. It is a concept promoted in all athletic activities from jumping to throwing a ball.

Alignment of the spine
Good alignment translates into less stress on the spine and more economical muscular activity. When the spine is aligned with gravity, the body works in harmony with the laws of nature. The moment the body is not balanced certain muscles become overworked and others become weak.

Many benefits of Pilates
Develops every aspect of physical fitness: strength, flexibility, coordination, speed, agility and endurance.
Heightens body awareness
Enhances body control
Teaches correct muscle activation
Corrects posture and alignment
Facilitates optimal function of the internal organs
Improves balance and proprioception
Focuses on breathing and it's related physical and psychological benefits
Offers a vehicle for concentration and focus
Promotes relaxation and the release of tension
Helps keep muscular and bone structure in an optimal state
Benefits pregnant women by providing a safe, effective, nonimpact exercise activity
Serves as cross-training for athletic pursuits and daily activities
Distributes body mass more aesthetically ( people report looking and feeling slimmer )
Provides a path to inner harmony through a finely tuned body

Pilates is not a potion that cures all and brings about miraculous changes immediately. Change takes time, commitment, and discipline.

If you are dedicated to regular Pilates sessions, three times a week for at least six weeks, some positive changes are inevitable. Although certain changes can and often do occur immediately-for instance, a change in body awareness, muscle activation, or alignment-it takes time for most adaptations to become imprinted in the neuromuscular system, for muscles to transform, and for the transformation to be integrated into a person's life.

8 PRINCIPLES of PILATES

Fitness V Clinical Pilates

There have been many questions raised regarding those involved in the vast and organic fitness industry, about their resposibility in assuring the quality and effectiveness of the Pilates discipline. More recently, the scientific community has taken an interest in Pilates and its application for injury rehabilitation, leading to the development of a seperate stream called 'clinical pilates'.

The birth of clinical pilates

The fitness Pilates industry is populated by instructors and core stability teachers with varying levels and standards of training. Many of them have little or no advanced education or training in injury process, pathomechanics, movement dysfunction or rehabilitation management. Many genuine practitioners of fitness Pilates have a strong sense that they are offering their clients something with incredible potential, yet because they have little understanding of the inner workings of the mechanical body, these well-intentioned teachers suffer some confusion about why certain clients get a result from their instruction while others break down with injury, despite evry effort to teach them correctly and specifically.

This is where clinical pilates started. In the early 1990's, rehabilitation specialists such as physiotherapists (especially in Australia) began to incorporate Pilates exercises and equipment into their protocols, but found that some aspects of what they were importing did not sit well with the best evidence from sports therapy and rehabilitation research. By infusing Pilates exercises with well established physiotherapy concepts and thereby scientific validity, clinical Pilates was born.

Clinical Pilates is evidence based – aim efficent
Fitness Pilates not as effective

Back in the 1920's Joseph Pilates gave us a method that prioritised the building blocks of core stability and rehabilitation. It has been in the last couple of decades that sports science research has helped us see more clearly why some ideas work brilliantly on injured bodies, while others are at odds with current best practice.