Movements Afoot’s Blog
A BodyMind Think Tank – Taking fitness to the next levelArchive for June, 2008
Pilates Mat & Scoliosis
by Lesley Powell
“I would like to know how to handle a Mat Pilates participant with mild scoliosis in a group class setting. I have a teenager who has asked to take my Mat Pilates class. I asked her to be patient with me while I researched what I can do to assist her. Should I not have her do certain exercises? I am nervous. I can’t find any information on Mat Pilates and Scoliosis.” Thanks! Cheri
There are wonderful ways to bring better balance to all your clients as well as the clients with scoliosis. Since we all have preferences of left and right, body habits and imbalances, getting better balance of mobility and strength will take the Pilates workout to a different level.
A wonderful example is my experience with Diane Woodruff at a Laban Conference in Brazil. She had all of us perform a crunch and observe the range of motion. Then she took through a simple mobility of the spine in sitting. It is very much like Mermaid in the Pilates repertory.
Start Sitting
- Lift the right arm up.
- Laterally flex the spine to the left.
- Rotate the spine to the left & bow to the knee with the hands on each side of the knee.
- Roll your spine center flexed.
- Roll back up to neutral spine
- Repeat to the other side.
With that warm-up, she had us perform the crunch again. We all were able to flex our spines more. When teaching mobility, have the clients become aware of which side was tighter. Have them perform more on the tight side.
Awareness is key in making change.
- When the class does pelvic rocks (clocks), which side of the pelvis is touching the floor.
- Leg circles- Does one side have more trouble stabilizing?
- Bridging- Does one hip go higher/rotate?
- Roll down- Is the spine evenly rolling down on the floor?
- Quadriped with opposite arm and leg lifted- Is one side harder to find balance?
- Sitting- Where are the ribs in relationship to the pelvis?
- Standing- Are the hips level?
With scoliosis, you want to open the tight muscles and strengthen the weaker ones. With all clients, tight muscles can prevent them from connecting to the deep core muscles. Mobilizing the spine, stretching the ITB’s & the psoas are essential for everyone’s wellness.
A great resource is Muscles/Testing and Function with Posture and Pain. They have an entire section on posture. I highly recommend this book for every serious teacher.
In the Fall, Joy Puleo will be teaching a workshop on Scoliosis and Pilates.
Improving rounded shoulders in your clients
by Lesley Powell
“I am looking for some advice- I have a client coming in with upper cross syndrome due to large breasts and poor posture. Can you talk about what exercises would be beneficial for this client?” Teacher
When trying to improve alignment, you need to observe what is tight and weak. Put yourself into the posture of your client. What joints/body parts feel shorten in space and muscle length? What muscles did you stop using in that posture?
Depending on your client;
- Stretching tight muscles can help the client get to the muscles needed to work.
- Strengthening the weak muscles can help release the tight muscles.
Upper Cross Syndrome is a client with a forward head and round shoulders.
Stretch
- Pec-major and minor. This could be pulling the shoulders forward
- Upper trapezius- Lifting the scapula up
- Levator Scapulae-Lifting the scapula up
- Sternocleidomastoid- Locking the head on the neck
- Scalenes- Pulling the head forward and rounding the back
- Subscapularis- affecting the shouder blades in having round shoulders
- Lats- Short, tight Lats could be rounding the back and bringing the scapula in downward rotation
- Mobility of the spine in all planes especially extension
- Work on mobility of the scapula such as arm circles
Strengthen
- strengthen back extensors of the neck & back
- MIddle & lower traps- helps with shoulder stability and placement
- Anterior serraus- helps with shoulder stability and placement
- Rhomboid- helps with shoulder stability and placement
- Rotator cuff- helps with shoulder stability and placement
- How are legs affecting posture
- Strengthen core especially in relationship to neutral spine and extension
Tuck vs the Pelvic Shift Forward
by Lesley Powell
One of the hardest things to teach and explain is the difference between tucking and Pelvic Shift Forward.
under-STAND-ing
Pelvic shift forward
Pelvic shift forward is a concept of how the legs and the pelvis influence the weight shift. The best example of this is our gait, walking. The pelvic shift forward is our getting from sitting on a chair to standing. The pelvis and the legs influence our moving forward in space. Our hips have to go through hip flexion and extension to propel us through space.
Poor posture and gait diminishes proper shifting our weight forward for simple actions. This poor action forces our upper bodies to shift us forward to walk.
Observation
Stand with the pelvis behind the heels.
Notice how the foot reacts to this weight shift.
What muscles of the legs are working?
How is the upper torso reacting to this position?
Our lack of understanding of the correct use of our legs creates different kinds of POSTURE. First of all, the legs are not under-standing the relationship to the pelvis. When there is a poor tailbone-heel connection, the legs and feet work unevenly to support our upper bodies. For many, one tucks to bring the pelvis over the feet and pulled the front ribs down to solve the problem of a poor head-tail-heel connection.
Now purposely tuck;
How does this change the work of the feet now, the legs and the torso?
Walk with this posture!
The Bartenieff Fundamental, the pelvic shift forward, is a bridge with the spine neutral. The legs lift the pelvis up. The pelvic shift forward relates how we use the legs to move and support the pelvis.
The pelvic shift forward is a different bridge than the bridge with the pelvis begins in posterior tilt. The posterior bridge is about the sequencing of the spine. The posterior bridge does not work the legs in the same way as the pelvic shift forward.
The use of space is different for these bridges. The pelvic shift forward shifts the knees and pelvis towards the feet. The posterior bridge moves away from the feet.
To extend the hip through the legs, one uses the hamstrings and depending on the force needed, the gluteals. We only think of the gluteals as of squeezing the buttocks. This is primarily the gluteal maximus and the fibers closer to the gluteal cleft. Tucking occurs when both sides of the gluteal maximus are fired at the same time. In gait, we are firing one side of the gluteals at a time depending on the gait cycle. Recent research has proven the gluteals are being used to assist us in standing and moving on our legs. There are other sections of the gluteals we want to put our attention to. These muscles are the attachments to the femur on the side of our hips. The gluteal medius, gluteal minimus and the lateral fibers of the gluteal maximus help us to stabilize on one leg. The gluteals help us extend our hips especially in larger forces needed as in walking up stairs, changing levels such as a deep lunge to standing and standing on one leg. The tone needed to extend the hip is very different than in tucking.
Working with clients with Parkinson Disease
by Lesley Powell
I had worked with Physical therapists Ruth Teitel and Nicola Weiner with their experience with clients who had Parkinsons. The workout should include mobility, stretching, strengthening the extensors, and improving one’s gait. With some clients with Parkinson, there is a bent spine.
From the website; www. Parkinson.org, the reasons for a stooped posture is unknown. Some think the rigidity of the muscles are the cause. This posture affects the movements of the hip, thigh and back muscles.
Try it: Stand up and bent at your waist with your spine in a “c” curve.
Now walk and see how it affects your walk.
Suggestions for Parkinson included the following;
- Work in seated and prone positions as supine often increases rigidity and flexed posturing
- Emphaze trunk, lower and upper extremity extension as well as rotation
- Encourage slow and rhythmic movement once moving has been initiated for a specific sequence.
- Use rhythmic and auditory cuing to help establish movement
- Avoid fatigue.
Especially with kyphotic postures work on mobilizing the spine, with emphasis on extension, rotation, and side bending. Also include exercises that include back and hip extension, improving hand-scapula relationship and hip mobility.
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