Joseph Pilates created his signature workout with his own physical transformation in mind. His workouts helped him overcome his physical disabilities and turn him into a complete athlete. While working in England during World War I, his German citizenship earned him a place in an internment camp. He used his time to experiment with physical therapy exercises for fellow prisoners. Pilates rigged the hospital bed springs to create a therapeutic resistance training device. His makeshift creation inspired the Pilates Reformer.
The Reformer
A moving carriage, a set of springs and a cable pulley system comprise the Pilates Reformer. Fluidity of movement, meticulous muscular control, proper breathing and deep core muscle engagement characterize its exercises. The results of a July 2006 study published in the "Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy" indicate that Mr. Pilates was onto something when he created his method and equipment. The research team recruited 39 subjects with chronic low back pain. The exercise group participated in a four-week Pilates mat and equipment program. The control group simply visited their healthcare provider as needed. The exercise group had significantly less pain than the control group at the end of the four-week period.
Engaging the Core
The transverse abdominal muscle and the internal obliques support your spine and prevent back pain. While all Pilates exercises actively engage these muscle groups, a November 2008 study, published in the "Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation," revealed that Pilates Reformer exercise triggered greater transverse abdominal muscle and oblique activity than the same exercises performed on the mat. Since the Reformer is on an elevated platform, it facilitates easier loading and unloading than exercises performed on the mat. This is an important feature for people with debilitating back problems.
Footwork
The Pilates Reformer footwork trains your ankle, knee and hip joints to work as a unit in perfect postural alignment. This movement mechanics improvement prevents the postural misalignment and faulty gait patterns that often trigger back pain. Lie supine with your knees bent and your toes on the Pilates Reformer foot bar. Draw your belly in, and slowly straighten your legs. Perform 15 repetitions, then perform the same exercise with your heels on the bar. Keep your knees and feet parallel the entire time. Physical therapists also use the Reformer footwork series as a diagnostic tool. The inability to keep one leg in alignment indicates nerve damage on the corresponding side of your back.
Spinal Bridge
Spinal articulation describes the ability to sense, control and sequentially move each vertebra in your spinal column. Your ability to articulate your spine plays a key role in your strength, flexibility and your ability to prevent and alleviate back pain. Lie supine on the Reformer carriage, with your knees bent and your feet on the foot bar. Slowly lift each of your spinal vertebra until you create a bridge. As you roll back to the starting position, imagine that you have grapes in each vertebra, and you want to pop each grape into the carriage mat. Dr. Brent Anderson of Polestar Pilates suggests placing three springs on the carriage to keep it from inadvertently moving.
Advanced Bridge
Once you have mastered the bridge, increase the challenge by adding lateral movements. Begin with the original bridge movement, but on the return, laterally slide your hips from side to side as if your pelvis was a typewriter carriage. This engages the lateral spinal stabilizers, such as your obliques. Rael Isacowitz, author of "Pilates," suggests another advanced variation once you have mastered the basics. Instead of using three springs to stabilize the reformer carriage, release the springs to place the carriage in an unstable position. As you perform the bridge, engage your deep core muscles to prevent the carriage from moving.
References
- "Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy"; Pilates-Based Therapeutic Exercise: Effect on Subjects With Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain and Functional Disability: A Randomized Controlled Trial; Rochenda Rydeard, PT, MSc, et al.; July 2006
- "Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation"; Transversus Abdominis and Obliquus Internus Activity During Pilates Exercises: Measurement with Ultrasound Scanning; I. Endleman, et al.; November 2008
- "Pilates"; Rael Isacowitz; 2006
- Polestar Pilates: Pilates Rehabilitation
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