Pelvic pain and dysfunction are common health issues in both men and women that are often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Pelvic issues often go unreported because they sometimes involve urinary, fecal and sexual issues that are embarrassing and uncomfortable to discuss. The Pilates Method is an exercise regimen that specifically targets the pelvic region, to promote optimal strength, function and range of motion.
Your pelvic girdle plays a huge role in your overall health and daily function:
- It connects your trunk to your lower extremities, and mediates load transfer between your upper and lower body during physical activity.
- It houses your reproductive organs and provides a nurturing space for a growing fetus.
- It marks the end of your spinal column and protects the nerve roots that innervate your legs and feet.
- It contains your lower digestive tract and eliminatory system.
When the muscles of your pelvic girdle become too tight, too lax or too weak, you can develop a plethora of problems that cause pain and dysfunction throughout your body, and seriously impact your daily quality of life.
The Pilates Method was formulated in the early 20th Century by its namesake, Joseph Pilates, the German-born son of a competitive gymnast father and a naturopath mother. Joseph suffered from poor health as a young child, and he turned to sports and exercise as a teenager, to improve his health and build up his physique. He believed that lifestyle, poor posture and incorrect breathing were at the root of many modern ailments.
Joseph toured England as a young man, working as a circus performer and professional boxer. At the outbreak of WWI, Pilates found himself interred on the British Isle of Man as a German enemy of state. There, he devised exercises to help his fellow prisoners remain fit and healthy.
After the war, Pilates emigrated to New York City and opened his Body Contrology Studio in Manhattan, where he practiced and perfected his exercise methodology. The studio soon began rehabilitating ballet dancers, whose injuries often involved the hip and pelvic region, and the Pilates Method was born.
Clinical Pilates can be a useful adjunct to physical therapy because it is often difficult to tell if the pelvic floor muscles are engaging properly. People with weak or dysfunctional pelvic floor muscles often recruit the gluteal muscles to aid in load transfer and pelvic stability, causing painful muscle imbalances and negatively impacting posture.
Clinical Pilates helps to align your ribs and low back with your pelvis to create a healthy neutral spine. When your lower ribs and hip bones are in alignment, you relieve stress and pressure in your low back. Pilates not only strengthens the pelvic floor muscles, but it optimizes hip range of motion and promotes healthy spinal alignment.
When you are able to engage your core pelvic muscles correctly, you can begin to restore optimal balance and stability throughout your body. Clinical Pilates can play an important role in helping you achieve your overall physical therapy goals.
Joseph Pilates perfected his method in Manhattan in the early 20th Century. Today, ballet dancers, athletes and physically active people appreciate the clinical effectiveness of Pilates treatment for improved performance and rehabilitation at NYDNRehab, not far from Joseph Pilates’ original studio.
For the best chiropractic care and physical therapy in NYC, contact NYDNRehab. And be sure to ask about TeleHealth services, to get all the benefits of clinical treatment from the privacy and safety of your home, office or hotel room.
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