Joseph Pilates, creator of the exercise method that bears his name, did not begin life as a natural athlete or dancer. In fact, he developed his method as a means of overcoming his many physical shortcomings, and gradually evolved into an all-around athlete as a result of his carefully designed exercises. While much of the Pilates method emphasizes the core, many of the exercises strengthen and support the the knees, and play a key role in some physical therapy programs.
Early History
As a German citizen living in England during World War I, Joseph Pilates spent time in a British internment camp, where he developed physical therapy programs for fellow internees. He rigged the hospital bedsprings to provide makeshift resistance training equipment. This ad hoc invention eventually inspired the Pilates apparatus. When Pilates moved to the United States, he set up shop in New York City, where he and his wife, a registered nurse, worked with athletes and dancers. He believed that too much flexibility, as opposed to limited flexibility, caused knee pain and injury in this population. Many of the Pilates exercises used in knee physical therapy strengthen the hamstrings, quadriceps, inner and outer thighs.
Hip Release
Your body's different muscle groups function as interdependent entities. The relationship between the hip and the knee illustrate this point. Reduced hip range of motion has a negative effect on knee mechanics. The hip release exercise opens the hip joint. It also helps you regain the hamstring range of motion often lost after knee surgery. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Open your hip and allow one knee to drop to the side. Slide your heel along the floor until your leg straightens. Then, turn your knee back to parallel alignment so that it faces the ceiling. Slide your heel along the floor to bend your knee and return to the starting position. Perform 15 repetitions.
Side Leg Series
The Pilates side lying leg series strengthens the abductors and adductors, or outer and inner thighs. These muscle groups stabilize your knee and keep it from rolling inward or outward. Knee surgery often damages these muscles. Physical therapists prescribe these exercises to prepare their patients for weight-bearing activities. To work the outer thigh, lie on one side with your bottom leg bent and your top leg extended so that your knee and hip form a straight line. Keep your knee facing straight ahead and lift your leg to hip height. To work the inner thigh, bend your top knee and place the foot on the floor in front of your straight bottom leg. Contract your inner thigh as you lift the bottom leg from the floor. Perform 20 repetitions of each exercise.
The Reformer
Physical therapist and certified Pilates instructor Dane Burke, founder of Northstar Pilates, uses the spring-and-cable-based Pilates reformer to address the leg misalignment that results from knee injuries. Lie on your back on the gliding reformer carriage, with your knees bent and your feet on the foot bar. Slowly bend and straighten your knees against the spring's resistance. Your physical therapist will ask you to perform the exercise with your feet flexed, your toes pointed and your legs in a parallel and turned-out alignment. As you gain strength, your therapist increases the resistance by attaching extra springs to the carriage. The reformer strengthens your hamstrings, quadriceps and lower leg muscles.
The Chair
When patients are ready for weight-bearing exercise, physical therapist and Pilates instructor Brent Anderson, head of Polestar Pilates, puts them on the Pilates chair. The spring-controlled chair has a platform on top of the machine and a foot pedal on the bottom. Stand with one foot on the platform and the other foot on the pedal. Perform a lunge by keeping your bottom leg straight, and bending and straightening your top leg against the spring's resistance. On your last repetition, keep your top leg bent and bend and straighten your bottom leg. These exercises strengthen your hamstrings and quadriceps.
References
- Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research; Pilates Training for Use in Rehabilitation after Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A Preliminary Report; Brett Levine, MS, MD; June 2009
- Stott Pilates: The Warm Up Hip Release
- Balanced Body: Working With Athletes After Knee Injury; Brent Anderson; July 2010
- Northstar Pilates: Pilates and Knee Injuries; Dane Burke; 2009
