Pilates and Physical Therapy Connection

Pilates is a form of exercise that has grown in popularity over the past 15 years. Pilates is used to do the following:

1. Improve core strength
2. Identify and correct muscle imbalances
3. Improve posture awareness
4. Improve flexibility
5. Build lean long muscles

There is a strong connection between Pilates and physical therapy. The physical therapy community has had the unique opportunity to use some Pilates exercises when rehabilitating orthopedic patients. The fundamentals of Pilates (pelvic bowl, marches, toe taps) are often used by physical therapists during the early stages of rehabilitating a patient with lower back pain. However, many physical therapists are not fully aware of all the many benefits of incorporating Pilates in a patient’s plan of care.

Every physical therapist should take at least one Pilates course early in his or her career. I say this from experience. By becoming certified in Pilates, this helped me understand more about training the body as a whole, not just the injured part. It taught me how to identify and correct muscle imbalances that may be the main reason for the chronic pain many people experience. It has given me the knowledge and critical thinking abilities to better serve my clients and patients.

To become a certified Pilates instructor, the individual has to go through 100s of hours of training.

To become a licensed physical therapist, someone has to go through years of education and training in anatomy, physiology and movement principles.

That is why physical therapists make some of the best Pilates instructors and Pilates instructors make some of the best physical therapist.

Having both forms of training opens your eyes to seeing all of the hidden weaknesses of each and every patient and client. Having the ability to identify these weaknesses allows you to serve your patients more completely.

Benefiting from Pilates

Some of the benefits a physical therapists can experience by taking a Pilates course include:

1. Improved ability to identify and correct muscle imbalances
2. Enhanced ability to rehabilitate the patient as a whole and not just rehabilitate the injury.
3. Learning a ton of new exercises to use when rehabilitating a patient with a lower back problems, knee problems or neck issues (just to name a few).
4. Improved ability to see how posture is a strong contributing factor to many spinal issues and how to correct the posture effectively.

ABS Pilates of Columbus, Ohio is a specialized Pilates program. I am the instructor of all sessions and classes. I am a licensed physical therapist and certified Pilates instructor with more than 25 years of experience. I offer group Pilates classes on the Reformer and Tower as well as private and semi-private sessions.

ABS Pilates of Columbus, Ohio also offers continuing education classes to physical therapists on how to use Pilates to rehabilitate orthopedic patients.

Contact ABS Pilates of Columbus, Ohio to schedule your Pilates session or continuing education course today.