At our clinic, we have been providing group physiotherapy Pilates classes since 2002. In that time we have seen an undeniable trend. The more we see patients at Pilates, the less we see them for treatment in the physio clinic. You’ll be taught by experienced Pilates instructor course who can mentor you on your education path.
This is because performing Pilates exercises correctly, strengthens the core and stability muscles (such as in the shoulder, hip, lower back). Your core muscles (the deep abdominal muscles such as Transverse Abdominus and Multifidus) enclose your spine, when they are strong it is like wearing a corset which means your spine is supported through movement and while stationary. Having a strong core and alert stability muscles helps to prevent injury and means you can then use the rest of your body more efficiently and gracefully. For example many sports people use Pilates principles to run faster, jump higher and go further.
The difference between tonic and phasic muscles and why it matters to your back and the type of exercises that you perform.
Tonic or postural muscles such as the core muscles are constantly activating to maintain posture and stability and are designed to not fatigue. Core muscles, however, are inhibited by injury and prolonged poor posture. When we sit for long periods with poor posture, some muscles are over shortened while others are over stretched. This is particularly relevant today as many workers are tied to a desk and live relatively sedentary lifestyles.
So the more we sit in these poor postures the more our brain learns to turn the core off, shorten some muscles and lengthen others and our body learns to recruit these same patterns in other activities. This leads to a downward spiral as the core is further inhibited and becomes dysfunctional leading to back pain and increased risk of serious back injury. Have you or someone you know had a back injury from something as minor as picking up a small object like a pencil? This is how such injuries can occur.
Phasic or global muscles are designed to activate on command when we need something done e.g. biceps working to lift hand to mouth. They then turn off when the job is done. Phasic muscles such as the biceps, pectorals and rectus abdominus (the six pack muscle) can all be strengthened and bulked up through a weight lifting strengthening program. In contrast, your core muscles are much more difficult to strengthen as they have a different structure and work differently.
To strengthen the core you need to hold the transversus on (ie tonically) while performing certain slow and controlled movements, like in Pilates. Turning on the core is quite specific, it is not as easy as going to the gym and working on your biceps. For a start you can’t see the core; it can be difficult to know when it is activating or if some of the surrounding outer phasic muscles, such as the rectus abdominus are taking over.
If you are doing gym work or practicing Pilates with incorrect technique you could be reinforcing your bad motor patterns and not helping your core and stability muscles at all. You have no doubt heard the term, practice makes perfect. But if you are simply practicing the wrong technique you just reinforce poor form. Perfect practice is what makes perfect! How do you know if you are really performing your core stabilizing muscle exercises to near perfection when you can’t see them and can hardly feel them? This is where closely supervised training of the core becomes important, firstly to become aware of correct activation and secondly to make it tonic again (retraining the motor pattern).
In our convenience focused world of mod cons, one of the
most important things we can do for our health is look to incorporate
health focused activities into our daily routine. We have all seen
elderly people with hunched over necks and severe back pain. If you are
determined not to have this happen to you, then there are things you can
do today to prevent it. Here are two simple tips…
- Lumbar support roll – this helps to keep your spine in neutral which is the best position for turning your core on and keeping it on.
- Think tall – sitting AND standing in good posture automatically makes it easier for your core to turn on and stay on. As you “think tall” you should almost feel your waist draw in, which is what happens when your core muscles turn on.
Dianne Hermans is a senior physiotherapist and principal physiotherapist at Lifestyle Therapies wellness clinic in Manly in Brisbane, Australia. She has a particular interest treating chronic and complex pain.
Dianne has worked extensively with the neurologist who originally invented Quadrapolar magnets for the treatment of pain – Dr Robert Holcomb. She is currently enrolled in a Masters program at Griffith University and is conducting a double-blind Randomised Controlled trial using QMagnets. Dianne is Principal Clinical Educator for QMagnets and has trained hundreds of health professionals in the use and application of QMagnets.
For more information on Lifestyle Therapies, see [http://www.lifestyle100.com]
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