PILATES FOR BACK PAIN MANAGEMENT
It is estimated that 80% of us will suffer from back pain in our lifetime, with women more likely to suffer than men. Midlife backs are under constant stress & strain with desk jobs, busy lives, caring for children & elderly parents. For midlife women the reduction of oestrogen, which helps to maintain healthy tissues, can lead to added aches, pains & joint stiffness. Add in daily stresses & lack of exercise and back pain can become a common and niggling issue.
Research from 2021 (hayden et al)) found ‘Pilates more effective than other types of exercise in treatment for reducing pain intensity.’
Why Pilates For Back Pain & Pain Management?
Pilates Strengthens Your Back
Virtually every pilates move works to strengthen your back and abdominal muscles. By creating a strong ‘centre’ or ‘core’, we can help strengthen the muscles supporting the spine and particularly the lower back that takes a lot of our bodies weight. This added strength helps prevent and reduce back pain. Research shows that exercise increases blood flow to your lower back area which can reduce stiffness & helps speed up the healing process Pilates ‘swan’ and ‘swimming’ seen below are great examples of how pilates helps strengthen your back and abdominals. (Pics 1 & 2)
Pilates Promotes Mobility & Flexibility of the Spine
Mobility is the ability to move our joints though a good range of motion without pain or discomfort & flexibility is being able to lengthen muscles fully. Both mobility & flexibility are important for moving our bodies well & helping reduce back pain. Pilates is perfect for moving our bodies and particularly our backs! In well planned pilates sessions our backs will be guided through every possible range of movement, from rotation in the spine twist, (pic 3) flexion in the spine stretch, (pic 4) side bending with the mermaid (pic 5) & extension like the swan (pic 6) Focussing on mobilising and stretching helps to lubricate our joints and lengthen our muscles helping to ease pain & soreness.
Pilates - The Whole Person Approach
Pilates encompasses movements that stretch strengthen & mobilise your entire body & more! As well as a physical workout, pilates helps to calm your body & mind. By concentrating on slower steady, moves as well as our breath, our minds become clearer of everyday distractions. This type of ‘movement meditation can help reduce anxiety, relieve stress & promote better sleep, all of which help manage chronic pain.
Pilates At Any Stage or Age
For many of us back pain is triggered by the smallest & simplest of moves, bending over to tie shoelaces, reaching round for our seat belt or picking something off the floor. Once you feel comfortable to start moving again pilates provides a fantastic method to return to exercise, pain reduction & building strength for your back & whole body. Every pilates move can be adapted to suit individual needs and you can add on to each move as you rebuild your strength & your pain is less. Under the correct guidance and care of your teacher confidence in daily movement and activities will grow.
Not all pilates movements will be suitable for everyone so always seek professional advice & guidance before exercising with back pain.
“Exercise such as Yoga and Pilates have been shown to be effective interventions for LBP (lower back pain) however, the research is not clear on whether any single intervention is superior to another; therefore, the choice of exercise should fundamentally be driven by client preference and practitioner expertise ”