PILATES FOR BACK PAINS, NECK PAINS, AND A GOOD POSTURE
In recent years there has been a wide use of Pilates in both fitness and rehabilitation fields.
Pilates is a workout that provides physical fitness to your body and leaves a good impact on your mental health. It provides flexibility and strength to bones and muscles. It helps in improving muscular control on both sides of your body.
Pilates has been known as a fitness workout as it prevents the problems related to the body’s core muscles and assists in maintaining a good posture.
Back problems
Today a vast number of the population suffer from back problems, which might be a reason for low diet, accident, injury, fracture, muscle strain, narrowing of the spinal canal and muscle weakness, and many more. Pilates has been proven as a workout that promotes back health.
Back pain
One of the significant issues faced by 85% of the population is back pain. This back pain develops due to the overweight, spending too much time sitting either for office work or entertainment. People who smoke or take so much stress are also at the risk of developing back pain. Back pain is also developed as the person gets older or some diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and scoliosis.
What happens when you experience back pain?
Back pain directly affects the quality of your life. It makes you inactive, and it does not allow you to focus on your work, it disturbs you a lot while performing household chores, and it decreases your motivation to exercise. Experiencing back pain also impacts your mental health, especially when it becomes chronic. At that stage, an individual may not manage things effectively, relationships are disturbed, and the person does not feel like socializing.
Why is Pilates suitable for back problems?
Pilates’ essential principles include exercises that relieve back pain and prevent back problems from developing into the body. It aims to create a core that could provide support and a robust base to the body. In Pilates, there are different exercises designed for those who are suffering from back pain. These exercises promote strength and mobility without worsening the condition. That is why Pilates is one of the best treatments for back pain.
The exercise pattern that is followed particularly for back pain strengthens the deep abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and back base muscles, which provides vital support to the back and spine, eventually resulting in a strong base and easy movement.
People who suffer from chronic pain are also advised to follow specific relief related positions in Pilates, which reduces the pain after a particular period.
Neck Pain
Reasons for neck pain
Neck pains occur due to older age, poor posture, or injury. Nowadays, the main reason for neck pain happening in most people is the use of smartphones. Smartphones, along with other advanced devices such as digital cameras, portable media players, high-resolution touch screens, are all the reasons that contribute to the increase in neck pain.
The term of Text Neck is used to describe a person who’s head is hung in a forward direction also causes neck pain. The person remains in this position with his head bent down for prolonged periods due to the use of digital devices or mobile phones, which develops neck and shoulder pain and results in bad posture.
Keeping the head hung in a forward direction has an impact on the spine too. If this position is not corrected, it results in occupational overuse syndrome, frequent stress, and strain injury.
When a person sits in this position, the head experiences an increase in its weight, due to which the cervical extensors contract with a high force to keep the head balance from falling into more flexion.
The wrong neck and shoulder posture tightens the area around the neck and shoulders, resulting in shoulder and cervical pain and headaches.
Pilates for neck pain
When your head, neck, and shoulders are aligned correctly, they allow your neck and shoulder muscles to stabilize and perform the movement correctly. The Pilates workout enables you to pay attention to specific positions so that your neck, shoulder, and head alignment is improved through it.
Taking Pilate sessions would stabilize your neck muscles and lower your neck and shoulder pain and headaches.
Pilates for good posture
A good posture brings out the attitude of confidence, allows you to move quickly and efficiently, and brings out your body’s right body language and appearance.
A good body posture also increases blood circulation, which is very good for organs and keeps your outer skin fresh.
Do you know that a person with a wrong body posture is at the risk of developing back pains, neck pains, leg, and hip pain? An improper posture causes impaired muscle function and also puts pressure on compressed organs.
Therefore observe yourself and see if you are one with a wrong body posture because it needs to be corrected. All you need to worry about is making sure that you reach out to the certified Pilate instructor because only a person with an in-depth knowledge of it would know which exercise you need to follow and modify it.
The specific exercises that are known to improve your posture and to reduce your back and neck pain includes
- The hundred
- Rolling like a Ball
- Work the Waist
- Total Body Pilates
- Core Control Pilates
- Pilates Flow
- Stretch and Strengthen
and a variety of many other exercises depending on your need and body condition.
Hence, if you experience any of the pains mentioned above, then there is no need to worry about following Pilates, which acts as a medicine without any side effects.