What is Rehab Pilates?

During my recent booth experience at the Southwest Florida Wellness Fair, the most common question was, "what is Rehab Pilates?" Is it physical therapy or is it Pilates? Well, it's actually a combination of both. Over my 30+ years of treating patients and athletes in the rehab world, I found traditional physical therapy just wasn't getting my patients back to their active lifestyles. Something was missing. That missing piece to the puzzle was functional movement. While working with the WTA Tour sports medicine services, I argued that players needed to get up off the treatment table and move, to use the stabilization we teach on the table in more challenging positions similar to what they are doing on the court and in the real world. I was over-ruled back then, but we have evolved in our philosophies for movement-based exercises. This is where Rehab Pilates comes in to get patients and clients off the treatment table and start rebalancing and learning how to move and live with gravity and other challenges in every day life. One of my mentors, Gary Gray, referred to this challenge as taking our patients from the nice, fenced-in backyard where it is safe to play to the front yard, where there is traffic, other people and their pets, and other environmental obstacles and dangers. Isn't that where real life happens? It's the same for people who only exercise in the pool, where it is safe and comfortable. The buoyancy of the water reduces the effects of gravity on our joints and makes it easier to move. However, eventually you have to go back out in the real world and live with gravity.

Want to read more?

Subscribe to alignptpilates.com to keep reading this exclusive post.

Subscribe Now