In recent years, Pilates has been increasingly adopted by physiotherapists and other practitioners as a complementary treatment to traditional manual approaches. It has earned acceptance particularly in the sports medicine, spinal medicine fields, chronic pain and reoccurring injuries.
In our clinic we use Clinical Pilates as part of our treatment program. We use a neurological model founded by an Australian Physiotherapist Craigh Phillips.
Clinical Pilates was founded by Craig in 1988 after he saw positive connections between Pilates and spinal stability research. He had previously noticed that many patients were progressing from physiotherapy to gym workouts which were then aggravating the original problems. Pilates was an option that seemed to better fit the needs of his clients, particularly the retraining and recruitment of deep stabilising muscles to better treat low back pain. His approach is a neurological and motor control approach, rather than a fitness and strength approach.
Clinical Pilates involves the use of therapeutic exercise, individualized to a patient’s specific needs; an approach to healing that is patient-centred and found in the moving body. It encourages patients to take an active role in their recovery and learn to listen to their body’s cues.
There is a strong focus on maintenance and injury prevention. Rather than treating only an injury or symptom, Clinical Pilates involves treating the whole person.
Your Clinical Pilates instructor is trained to identify problematic movement patterns or postural issues and then use a combination of manual therapy work (such as joint mobilisation or soft tissue manipulation) with Pilates exercises that have been modified to better suit the therapeautic setting.
Phillips found that many of the Pilates exercises were too ‘high- level’ and had a high proportion of flexion based work. Progressing to a greater range of exercises based on the originals has seen a shift towards more mid-range movements and control. These can then be used and modified for a greater number of patients.
Clinical Pilates is now also being used as an at-home ongoing treatment tool. Therapists will often construct programs for their patients to continue once manual therapy treatment is no longer needed. This has proven to be an effective way to prevent re-injury.
If you’re interested in Clinical Pilates, please make a booking with Jemma or Lauren.