It’s a natural tendency when exercising to focus on intensity, endurance and exertion, sometimes at the expense of precision and safety. The problem with this type of exercise is that repetitive movement done incorrectly often leads to injury. Treating my patients virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic has given me the opportunity to observe and address this problem through movement modification.
When I was working in my clinic, I relied heavily on palpation skills to diagnose problems and on manual therapy to relieve physical restrictions. In 2019 I also started teaching Rehab Pilates, which often requires Pilates equipment to facilitate movement. Initially I wasn’t confident that I would be able to help patients achieve good results without these modalities. I shifted my focus to fine-tuning my Rehab Pilates Matwork teaching skills online. I quickly realized that with the right verbal cues and education virtual treatments could be very effective. Customized, precise movement sessions with an emphasis on understanding the anatomy and physiology behind these actions has proven to be a fun and interesting way to work through injuries, and my clients have achieved great results.
Each session is typically designed as a one-on-one Rehab Pilates class with a clearly defined goal that we agree upon beforehand. I observe your movement through basic functional tests made up of some of the fundamental building blocks of Pilates. Stability and mobility are initially explained and experienced through simple exercises. Alternatively, some patients prefer to demonstrate some exercises from their own routine or show me some of the positional or ergonomic challenges they have in their home, and we build a treatment session based on this information. I explain why we are doing each exercise and how it applies to your movement challenges. Depending on your learning style I incorporate verbal and visual cues to assist learning.
The goal of these sessions is for you to know how to move safely and how to address basic movement problems and pain on your own. We will work on exercises that progressively challenge your strength and coordination until we reach a point where you are able to perform these actions independently both for fitness and functional purposes. Your movement patterns will change quickly as old dysfunctional habits are broken. Recordings of your home exercise program can be provided to ensure you are following it correctly.
Improved body awareness, along with increased core strength and dynamic stability can then be applied to working out on your own. Any type of exercise done independently including yoga, cardio, weight training and other types of conditioning can be done with control and precision. Every time you work out you can do your own rehab session. I can’t think of a better time to become independent with your own health and not need to visit me or other practitioners at a clinic.
Get in touch with me to experience the evidence-based benefits of Physiotherapy combined with the classical approach of Pilates from the comfort of your own home.
JUMP Physiotherapy. Stretch. Stabilize. Strengthen.