Pilates it is a physical activity that has different health benefits Concidering improves body posture, provides flexibility, generates stability in the joints, promotes control of the motor system and tones and strengthens muscles; as indicated Take care of Plus Laura Bonilla, physiotherapist and Pilates teacher at Rey Juan Carlos University Clinic in Madrid. In the same vein, Clara Miranda Physiotherapy Center, from Zaragoza, explains that Pilates, either on the ground or in cars, “Helps to correct bad postures, prevents joint pain and lumbopelvic pain from pregnant women and is especially indicated for the treatment of pathologies such as column deviations, increased back curves, hernias and / or disc protrusions or decreased mobility and flexibility of the spine ”.
Pilates can also help fights back pain? According to the specialists consulted, there are a number of exercises that can control back pain, but they warn that they must always be performed under the supervision of qualified personnel. “In the acute phases of pain, would be recommended to work lying face up, fully supporting the spine on the mattress. Mobility exercises and stretching are recommended at this time and can be inserted gradual strengthening exercises, ie those that involve a reduced load for our back “, advises Bonilla. In his opinion, after performing these exercises, you should be very careful and be careful if the pain increases after the course or after 24 hours because it will be an indicator that the effort was excessive.
“It will be essential to perform the exercises in a very controlled way, if to be guided and supervised at all times by a physiotherapist or a health professional, because the prescribed exercises must be individualized according to the patient’s background and pathology “, insists Bonilla.
Six Pilates Exercises for Back Pain
In turn, from the Clara Miranda Physiotherapy Center offers some examples of Pilates exercises on the floor useful for the back:
Anversion and retroversion of the lying pelvis
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the ground at hip width with the lumbar area detached: take air through your nose and expel it through your mouth, trying to glue the lumbar area to the floor. To do this, contract the abdomen (inserting the navel) without lifting the buttocks off the floor. Inhale through your nose taking the lumbar spine off the ground to return to the starting position. Perform 15 repetitions of this exercise.
Spinal extension upside down
Turning your face down again, feet apart, arms on the sides of your body, take in air through your nose and when you exhale, perform a trunk extension by lifting your head and torso without lifting your feet off the ground. Stretching your arms to your feet. Takes navel to ceiling while releasing air to lift the trunk. “It is advisable to perform between 12 and 15 repetitions, making sure that there is no discomfort in the lumbar area”, they comment from the Clara Miranda Physiotherapy Center.
Swan upside down
Continue to sit face down, feet apart, hands resting on the mattress, breathe through your nose, and when you exhale, perform a trunk extension by lifting the head and torso without lifting the feet off the ground. Activate your abdominal girdle and buttocks as you release air to lift your torso. Then breathe again and lower by bending your elbows back to the torso and head on the mattress. Perform 12 repetitions.
Bridge over the shoulders
Again, you should lie on your back, with your knees bent and your feet resting on the floor at hip-width with the lumbar area slightly detached, take in air through your nose and expel it through your mouth, trying to hit the lumbar area. on the ground and lift the pelvis until it is on the scapulae. During the climb, you must contract the abdomen inward. Then, breathe without lowering the pelvis with gluteal contraction and slowly lower your spine until you rest on the floor, returning to the starting position. It is recommended to do 12 repetitions and balancing the pelvis while articulating the spine when lifting and lowering. “The exercise can be complicated by raising one leg to the ceiling and lifting the pelvis to the ceiling, with one foot resting on the floor and the other stretched straight to the ceiling,” they say.
The mermaid
You have to sit on a rug with your buttocks resting on it, one leg bent in front of the body and the other bent to the side. Then breathe through your nose raising your arm toward the ceiling and release the air to lean sideways, approaching the ground and activating the deepest muscles of the abdomen. “We breathe in the C side position of the spine and return by exhaling the air through the mouth towards the middle, making the abdomen strong”, he clarifies and adds: “8 repetitions are recommended on each side releasing the air through the mouth and lowering each repetition closer to the ground”.
The cat
You have to stay inside four support positions, resting your hands shoulder-width apart and your knees hip-width apart on the floor with your back aligned and your head in line with the rest of your back, take in air through your nose and when you expel it, put your navel in and out of your pelvis. perform a flexion of the spine bringing the vertebrae to the ceiling. “We inhale through the nose and when we exhale we return the spine to the initial position from head to pelvis, repeating this exercise 10 times,” they emphasize.
Other Health Benefits of Pilates
Susana rodriguez, head of Sanepilates and collegiate of Professional College of Physiotherapists of the Community of Madrid, agrees that Pilates provides strength, elasticity, coordination, stability through muscle work and, in general, get body balance from its voluntary control. “Its purpose is the self-knowledge of the body, to understand what is the proper functioning of each joint, which allows us to get from our body maximum performance. So, in addition to body work, it is done a cognitive or mental activity based on concentration to gain control of the body, ”says Rodríguez.
In this sense, for this expert, the main benefit of Pilates is injury prevention. “Many injuries are caused by a repetitive incorrect movement of a joint or body segment, so learning to move that segment correctly is essential to rehabilitating it and avoiding future recurrences,” says Rodríguez.
From a psychological point of view, the Clara Miranda Physiotherapy Center emphasizes that Pilates improves mood by releasing endorphins and facilitates rest by reducing stress. “It has other benefits, such as improved balance, coordination and attention, helping to learn how to breathe properly and, in addition, it is a method of fitness for athletes and dancers“They describe.
On the other hand, Bonilla points out that one of the main advantages of Pilates is that “can be practiced by anyone, from those who are completely healthy and who want to exercise to those with injuries, previous pathologies or structural changes ”.