Anastasis Tzanis
Reformer Pilates for injury recovery
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Those with an injury usually face 2 main issues: a. they are in pain b. they cannot perform regular tasks they could prior to the accident. Many start Reformer Pilates for injury recovery but it often takes them a disproportionate amount of time for their injury to heal. Independent on whether the injury is in the lower back, wrist, neck or any other joint I believe that if you follow the protocol below you will restore regular function fast.
1. Reduce Pain
Experiencing pain is not only debilitating but it will prevent you from executing movements out of fear (known as kinesiophobia).
1.1 Strengthen the supportive muscles
When a joint or muscle is injured chances are you will not be able to do much with it. What you can do though is exercise the muscles that support it. Here are 2 examples: When your knee in injured you can strengthen your hamstrings by hinging from your hips, or when your elbow is injured you can strengthen your lats and shoulders. This will reduce the load on the injured joint and subsequently the pain.
Reformer Pilates provides numerous exercises to strengthen our supportive muscles with regressions accessible to literarily anyone.
1.2 Establish a pain free range of movement
Certain movements cannot be avoided during everyday life, which is why it is important to establish a pain-free range. This often requires performing the movement slowly while consciously engaging other muscles (see point above).
Reformer Pilates is a low impact form of exercise that makes it easy to exercise while moderating the load or performing partial repetitions if necessary.
1.3 Address the Neurological Component of the injury
The nervous system is involved in at least 3 ways when we experience pain. Firstly the nervous system is responsible for communicating the pain to the brain so we can feel it. Secondly the state of the nervous system (sympathetic or parasympathetic dominant) will over- or under-sensitise us to pain. Thirdly nerve trapping or inflammation is very common when movement is restricted for prolonged periods.
Nerve flossing is easily performer on the reformer through the use of the springs and straps.
At Perola Bruta we acknowledge that the nervous system can benefit by not doing as much as it does from exercising. Ana offers craniosacral sessions to support healing of the nervous system.
2. Integrate movement in multiple joints
Our body operates as one unit, thus when addressing an injury we need to consider all the muscles, joints, fascia that affect our movements and not treat ourselves as lego!
Reformer Pilates allows us to synchronise the firing of different muscle groups and restore healthy function.
2.1 Address imbalances
When dealing with an injury, naturally our focus tends to be on the inflamed area. More often than not though the root cause stems at a different body part and even if that’s not true, in our effort to accommodate an injury we often create new imbalances in the body.
Unilateral exercises on the reformer machine and pilates chair can help us restore any imbalances. The same exercises that are used for rehab can also serve as assessment.
2.2 Perform all basic movements
At the start of a rehab program it makes sense to assess all basic movements that affect the injured area. For a knee injury, that would be walking, running, squatting, hinging, jumping. A lot of the times some of the movements are not be possible initially but over time you should expect normal function to be restored. Unless you include these movements however in your training there is a chance you may never fully recover.
Reformer Pilates provides regressions in all basic movements and can thus be adapted to your current ability.
2.3 Progressively strengthen the joint
When injured, due to reduced activity, muscles tend to become atrophic. This sequentially make us susceptible to future injuries. Gradually improving your strength will help you restore regular function and prevent complications in the future.
Reformer Pilates can support a high repetition strengthening program, leading to healthy joints.
3. Restore regular function
Once pain is eliminated and exercises that incorporate multiple joints are executed well, you will be ready to restore regular function in the affected area. In the instance of a foot injury that mens that you will progressively start walking longer distances, initially with shoes that provide extra support and later with thin sole ones.
In many instances injuries serve as a wake up call, bringing to our attention problems that have been incubating for years. It is not uncommon for our clients that come for an injury to get stronger than they have ever been. The best way to prevent injuries is by starting reformer now, because: