What is Clinical Pilates

Our Pilates is practiced by physiotherapists using traditional Pilates techniques combined with contemporary scientific knowledge and research. Pilates is suitable for all ages from 8-80 years and all level of activity.

We are Dance and Sport specialists offering individual assessments in order to create a personal program of specific exercises to correct muscle imbalances, rehabilitate an injury or refine a particular technique or skill.

Pilates is a form of exercise named after its founder Joseph Pilates. Joseph, being a German national living in England, was interned in a prisoner of war camp during WW1. He had a strong interest in physical exercise so he set about trying to assist injured prisoners with rehabilitation of their injuries. He resorted to using springs from hospital beds for gentle resistance exercises. The traditional Pilates Trapeze table (also called the Cadillac) resembles closely a typical old fashioned traction bed.

After the war Joseph moved to New York and further developed his ideas opening a studio in close proximity to many dance studios. He worked here until his death in 1967.

Joseph Pilates                    

How is Pilates applicable to today's exercise?

Joseph Pilates recognised the importance of using the inner core muscles he called these the 'powerhouse' and recognised the importance of continuous light contraction of these muscles during exercise and activity.

Today's modern research into back pain and the cause of this is continuing to reinforce his philosophies, as researchers are finding weakness and poor firing patterns in the deep spinal stabilizing musculature. Transverse abdominals and multifidis are often the cause of back pain when performing manual handling tasks. Poor outcomes after back pain and recurrent episodes of back pain have also been found to be closely related to insufficient rehabilitation and ongoing weakness in the core.

What is Clinical Pilates?

Clinical Pilates is the application of Pilates based exercises by physiotherapists.

As movement and musculoskeletal injury specialists we assess a client in detail to determine the cause of their pain and disability and design personalised programmes to strengthen, mobilize and often retrain their movements.

What’s the difference between Pilates Matwork and Pilates Studio equipment exercise?

Matwork can offer a great workout and can be utilized for big group classes and home exercise programmes.

Studio equipment however offers a wider variety of safe early rehabilitative exercises as it is closed chain exercise (the arms and legs are in contact with equipment). More precision and control is achieved by the client. Equipment can also offer very advanced exercises and is now utilized by many elite sportsmen and women to gain that training edge or to rehabilitate from sports injuries.

Pilates can offer well over 250 different exercises between the various pieces of apparatus.

The Reformer

A moving Carriage on rails controlled by spring resistance

The Trapeze table

Based on a traction table this apparatus offers a wide variety of exercises, beginners to advanced

Back pain and Pilates

Acute back pain

It has been shown by researchers that latent firing patterns and weakness in deep stabiliser muscles frequently accompany a serious episode of back pain. It is imperative that rehabilitation of back pain, whether it is work related or from sport or other causes, should include strengthening exercises commenced as soon as possible after the injury.

Pilates can offer very gentle strengthening exercises performed in a neutral spine (no flexing or extending), and these can be commenced with physiotherapy supervision even while mild pain is present.

An early stage core control exercise

Chronic back pain

We assess thoroughly the underlying weaknesses, tight musculature and most probable cause of the ongoing back pain. Retraining of the transverse abdominal and multifidis muscles together with addressing other issues identified will assist greatly in back pain management.

 Posture and Pilates

Poor posture can be the cause of neck pain, headaches and back pain. Overcoming postural problems frequently requires supervised exercises with feedback about the correct posture, combined with strengthening the weak muscles that should maintain the improved posture.

 Joint issues

Hip, knee, ankle, and shoulder injuries frequently require strengthening and retraining of the muscles that support these joints. For many clients they can perform a simple home programme and return to full function. More complex injuries may require closer supervision and more specificity in their exercise programme. We can offer carefully supervised programmes specific to the rehabilitation of your injury.

Sports injuries and Pilates

Once the secret training weapon of dancers, Pilates has now been embraced by many athletes to get that training ‘edge’ over the opposition and to rehabilitate from injury. Athletes are finding that Pilates can assist their performance. Sports ranging from football to cricket, swimming to athletics utilizes Pilates for training, rehabilitation and correcting imbalances.

 Dance Performance, Injury Treatment & Rehabilitation

Pilates and Dance

When Joseph Pilates moved to New York he established his exercise studio close to a number of dance studios. Many dancers became his clients, recognising the benefits of the strengthening to their dance performance and finding that Pilates was a great form of rehabilitation, should they have an injury. Choreographers and dancers such as Balanchine and Martha Graham were fascinated with his techniques and sent their dancers to him for rehabilitation.

Pilates naturally designed a lot of his exercises around his dance clientele. Many of the traditional Pilates exercises are very dance specific.

Our staff have many years of expertise in dance injury assessment and effective treatment regimes for dance injuries. Jennifer has worked with QDSE since 1991and provides annual dance assessments to QDSE and ADPI.

Performance Enhancement

Peak performance requires a strong well balanced body. We can provide a detailed assessment of your strengths, weaknesses and joint ranges and design a Pilates programme specific to you to improve any areas that are weak and tight. Your programme will be dance specific and challenging.

Injury treatment

When an Injury happens

● Acute Injuries – if you sustain an injury, immediately apply ice, compression and elevation. We recommend treatment commence within the first 48 hours. We try to prioritize dancers who need an appointment so they can get the early treatment they need. Having a dance injury doesn’t always necessitate that you stop dancing but professional guidance about what exercises you need to strengthen and rehabilitate, together with guidance about dance levels is important.

● Chronic dance injuries - treating more than just the pain is imperative in slow onset or recurrent injuries .These injuries usually require a detailed understanding of dance technique and a thorough analysis of musculoskeletal factors that could be contributing to the injury. Our physiotherapists have an in depth understanding of dance technique and can analyse whether your form is causing your injury.

Injury Rehabilitation

We can expedite your return to dance with physiotherapy treatment and graded strengthening exercises.

Dance Assessments

These are detailed musculoskeletal assessments of joint ranges, strengths and weaknesses. This assists the dancer to understand areas on which they need to focus to attain the most from their body. Strengthening programs to address these issues can be designed.

We can also complete dance assessment forms for tertiary dance institutes.

Osteoporosis and balance

We can offer safe supervised programmes with progressive bone loading and a strong emphasis on balance and falls prevention for clients experiencing bone density issues. There is no age limit on Pilates. Many clients in their 70s and 80s happily do Pilates and find that they have better balance and mobility than their peers.

Flexibility, agility and balance are all considered and challenged at a level that the individual can undertake. Falls prevention research is showing that balance starts to deteriorate after the age of 40. If you don’t use it you lose it.