Having a Knee Replacement?

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Are you thinking about a knee replacement or maybe you’re finally fed up enough with your knee pain that you decided to get it done?  Congratulations!!  As a Pilates instructor I see lots of bodies and lots of different things going on in the body.  As a general rule, I’m a fan of “do everything you can first before resorting to surgery” in many instances but I’ve really changed that attitude over the years when it comes to knee replacements.  I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of clients pre and post knee replacements and all of them have said something like this,” I’m so glad I did it! I can move and be active and not have pain in my knee! I wish I had done it sooner!”

I can also tell you that the clients who I taught Pilates to before their knee replacement swear by the benefits of their Pilates practice in helping them get through their recovery period with much more ease and speedier recoveries.   These clients always come back and tell me how their physical therapist is so happy with their quick progress and can’t believe how amazing their recovery is compared to others following the same journey.

Someone I know told me she was going to have a knee replacement soon and when I asked her if she wanted to come in and do some Pilates before the surgery to prepare her she said,”I have 12 exercises they gave me and I’m doing them twice a day.”  My response,” That is great- you should continue doing those exercises, but just doing the exercises won’t give you the same amazing benefits of doing Pilates before the surgery. I don’t know what exercises she was given but I am sure they were all great exercises designed to strengthen the muscles in her legs and hips, as well as keep those muscles flexible and mobile.  Since she was already doing these exercises I told her we would start her Pilates practice intro by just going over those exercises and applying the Pilates principles to those exercises so she could get more out them.

If you’ve never practiced Pilates before you might be wondering what is so great about Pilates?  What makes Pilates exercises different from the exercises the PT gave me as preparation?  Here’s my best attempt to explain the difference:

1.  Each Pilates exercise is a whole body exercise.  We are not just strengthening the leg muscles or the hip muscles! Yes the Pilates exercises will strengthen those leg and hip muscles but each exercise will also have you engaged,connected and working your whole body.  This comes in very handy when you are trying to figure out how to safely and effectively move your whole body around after your knee replacement surgery.  When the nurses come in to get you up and walking after your surgery you will appreciate your core strength, your upper body strength, and your ability to efficiently move all of your body, all thanks to your Pilates practice!

2. Pilates teaches you to initiate movement from your center.  Having strong core muscles that support your body and just knowing how to engage those core muscles is so helpful when you are recovering from an injury that is causing the rest of your body to compensate.  By having this knowledge and strength of how to engage those core muscles you will be able to support your body better whether you are using a walker or crutches and you’ll take some of the strain off of the rest of the body.

3. Body Alignment:  Pilates is considered a corrective exercise as we are continually trying to create balance in our body by doing movements in alignment and strengthening in alignment.  Creating balance in your body is important for everyone, but if you are recovering from an injury or ailment that causes you to compensate in the rest of your body it could save you from chronic pain, tightness and even injuries in the rest of your body long after your knee has healed.

When’s the best time to start Pilates if you are contemplating a knee replacement? Of course the sooner you start the more prepared you’ll be, but honestly even getting a few sessions in before the surgery with an experienced instructor can teach you some basic concepts that will help you immediately before and after the surgery.  After surgery you’ll want to talk to your doctor and physical therapist about the timing of starting regular sessions again.  The great thing about the Pilates work is that it can truly be adapted to any body so it is possible if you are working with an experienced instructor you can start incorporating the Pilates movements into your recover process sooner than later.

Want to see the benefits of Pilates before and after surgery?  Check out this video below of Pilates Instructor Nancy only 2 weeks after her kee replacement surgery:

Rolling for Relief

If there is one thing I’ve learned over my 20 plus years as a Pilates teacher, it’s this: stretching and releasing tightness in your muscles is equally as important as strengthening your muscles when it comes to functioning your best and feeling your best!

In fact, what I have found in my own body over the years is that to stay as balanced as possible I need to incorporate a regular Pilates practice with a variety of exercises designed to both stretch and strengthen my muscles, but I also need to have specific time to release tight muscles if I want to keep my body feeling the best.   My favorite way to relax and release tight muscles is a self massage technique called rolling.

I have to tell you it took me a little while to convince my mind that rolling wasn’t just a luxury, it wasn’t just a “when I had free time kind of thing”…it was a needed health tool that was important for keeping my body happy and feeling great.  No rolling isn’t a workout, but yes it will make big changes in how your body feels and will even help you feel more motivated to do your strengthening and cardio workouts, because you will feel better in your body.

So what exactly are you doing for your body when you use a self massage technique like rolling? 

Here’s a quick list of the benefits of rolling (self massage):

  1. You are increasing circulation and blood flow to tight muscles and surrounding tissues in your body.  Without good circulation those muscles will stay stiff, tight and unhappy. Improved circulation can enhance the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscle cells. As cellular health improves, tissues function more efficiently. More efficient functioning leads to the removal of waste products and may increase the absorption of excess fluids and reduce swelling in soft tissues.
  2. You are applying pressure with rolling techniques relaxes muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Rolling techniques relax muscle tissue, which can reduce painful contractions and spasms. 
  3. Self massage techniques can also reduce nerve compression. To understand this, consider that when muscles are contracted, they sometimes compress the nerves around them. When these muscles are relaxed, the nerves are no longer compressed, and, in theory, can get proper nutrients and operate more efficiently. The nerves can assume their normal work of transmitting messages to and from the brain, which improves functioning of the muscles and organs.
  4. You are specifically working on your “troubled spots” as I like to call them! All of us have imbalances in our muscles because of our movement patterns in life.  A well rounded, whole body movement practice (like Pilates) can be amazing for keeping your body more balanced out, but it will never completely balance you out!  Adding in a self massage technique like rolling can help you target areas that are especially tight and tense in your body and will help you create even more balance in your body. More  balance in your body (and less tightness and troubled spots) means you will just plain feel better and function better!  

Want to see what rolling could do for you? Join my 75 minute workshop to learn rolling techniques for your neck, shoulders and back.  If you don’t already have massage therapy balls you can purchase them in our online store and pick them up at the studio or have them shipped to you. 

For this workshop, I’ll be using 3 different sizes of balls: the Alpha Ball, the Yoga Tune Up Balls, and the Massage therapy plus balls.

If you’d would like to attend the workshop, but you don’t want to invest in balls until you know if you like it — watch this video!

Register for the workshop here!

My back hurts!

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I hear it all the time. “Can you just give me a few exercises I can do to make my back feel better?”

If you are looking for a quick fix I’m here to tell you there isn’t one! If you want to make changes in how your body feels you need to learn to change how you are moving your body (or not moving it).  This doesn’t happen overnight and there definitely are not magic exercises that will cure your aches and pains.

One of the biggest reasons that Pilates as an exercise method is so effective for helping people get rid of back pain is that by practicing Pilates on a regular basis you start creating a habit of paying attention to how your body moves and you start learning how you could be moving better and more efficiently.  Better movement means less pain in your body.

The good news is that a regular Pilates practice does not need to be complicated or even take a ton of time, but to really get the benefits you need to stick with it on a regular basis.  

How often should you do Pilates to relieve your back pain?
  • 2-3 Pilates classes or sessions a week
  • 1 private a month to fine tune your at home practice which consists of 10-15 exercises you can do 2-3 times at home
  • 1 Pilates class a week plus incorporating the Pilates principles into other workouts

The possibilities are endless!  Ready to get started on changing how your body moves and feels?  Contact us today to schedule a complimentary first session to learn more!!

Traction isn’t always a bad thing!

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What do you think of when you think of traction?  The first thing that immediately pops in my head is someone lying in a hospital bed with their legs being held up in the air in traction.  Traction can be used in a variety of medical conditions usually to take pressure off a joint or area of the body so it can heal properly.  By gently pulling on the body using a force the muscles are lengthened and the joints effected are decompressed. Did you know that the Pilates method uses the idea of traction to help students align their body and decompress their joints?

Lengthening and decompressing the spine and body as a whole is one of the main goals of the Pilates work.  By learning how to engage your core muscles you can learn how to create a support system for your bones that actually decompresses your skeletal system and leaves your body feeling long, tall, and working most efficiently.  An easy example of this is to think of your seated posture. 

In the Pilates work we often focus on how you can use your muscles to get out of that slouchy, rounded forward posture (that many of us do day in and day out!)  Many exercises will teach you how to sit tall on your sitting bones, use your core muscles to align your rib cage over your pelvis and lengthen your neck muscles to bring your head in line over your shoulders.

There are times when the Pilates equipment acts as a force that can help you create more traction and decompression in your body.  One of my favorite exercises on the Cadillac is something called the half hang.  The half hang consists of carefully putting your feet into straps that hang from the Cadillac so that you hips are slightly suspended over the mat.  This is an amazing way to allow the muscles in your legs, hip and back relax while letting the joints of the legs, hips and spine decompress.

Another favorite “traction” exercise of mine is called Long Spine on the reformer.  You put your feet into straps that are attached to the carriage and springs and use the resistance to create a pull or traction that helps you find articulation through your spine while also decompressing the space in between each vertabrae.  The design of the equipment allows you to find a sense of support and traction while still working your body in a balanced uniform way. (it feels amazing!)

The idea of decompressing your body during your exercises is one of the reason Pilates leaves you feeling so amazing! Even though the exercises can seem like a lot of work, they are done in a way that leaves your body feeling better when it gets done working versus worse.

Want to learn more about Pilates as an exercise program and how you can lengthen and decompress your body?  Contact us today (email us at rcpilates1@gmail.com) to schedule a complimentary private session to try it out!!

Have you ever had a fall that scared you?

Have you ever been just walking through your day as normal, to suddenly find yourself in what seems like a slow motion moment where your feet slide out from underneath of you and you find yourself strategizing in a split moment what might be the best way to fall?

This has happened to me and it just plain scared me! I landed with my heart racing, feeling a little like “what just happened?”, looking around to see if anyone saw me because I’m embarrassed and then I started checking myself to see what I hurt when I fell. Losing your balance is a pretty common thing and I think we can all relate to the unsettling feelings we have when it happens, not to mention the injuries we can get.

Many of my clients tell me one of the things they know they need to work on is balance. Many people (family, friends, & clients) have told me how much it just plain frustrates them that they can’t do what seems like a simple thing while holding their balance. You are not alone if you feel this way!

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that all the folks that tell me they need to work on balance are senior citizens. That’s just not true! In fact it is often my “younger ” clients who get the most frustrated, especially if they are practicing in a class with older participants who are clearly much better at balance than them! Most people believe that they should just be good at balance and they don’t realize balance is actually something you have to work on!

Improving your balance IS NOT HARD, will not take hours of daily practice and no matter your age or where you are starting you can make improvement! But it does take consistent action and commitment to practicing the things that will improve your balance and your confidence.

What are you doing to improve your balance? If you are like most people the answer is probably…nothing. That is exactly why I created two options for people trying to improve their balance. Both of these options are for anyone from 40-90+ trying to improve their balance. You do not need to have any Pilates experience before class!

Option 1 — Exercise for Better Balance. This is a 90 minute online workshop with a handout of exercises to practice to improve your balance. The entire workshop is done either sitting in a chair or standing beside the chair.

Click here for more information on this workshop.

Option 2 — We have a class on our schedule that meets once a week called “Better Balance”. In this 50 minute class Carey leads you in exercises designed to improve strength and balance. Half of the class is done seated, and half of the class is done standing beside the chair. If you’d like to try this class and see if it’s for you — send an email to Carey@RivercityPilates.com – and she’ll get you more information!

If you’re not dripping sweat, is it exercise?

I was chatting with a client the other day ago about our Roll,Release and Relax class and he said, ” I like it, but it wasn’t much of a workout.” I went on to explain that Roll, Release and Relax was not meant to be a workout, it was meant to be a self care class. A class where you spend the entire time using self massage techniques to roll out your muscles and fascia so that it is healthier, more hydrated and helps your body function better.

He also said during our conversation well you know many people would not consider what we do in Pilates class a workout. And he’s right…not because it’s not a “workout” but because some people’s idea of a workout is very different than what we consider a workout.

I consider a workout: specific time dedicated to moving your body in ways that creates strength and mobility so you can maintain your health to do whatever you want to do in life.

Other people’s definition of a workout: Time moving your body that feels like intense work, time moving your body that makes you sweat, time moving your body that is constantly hard and barely doable even time doing something you dislike just because you think you should.

Because so much of our society has accepted the definition of a workout above, many people never try a “workout” like Pilates and never really give it a chance because they feel like it’s not hard enough or won’t work for them.

I have a secret for you…that’s not really a secret…. the reason that Pilates is so effective once people commit to it is that it is adaptable to their specific body and it adapts with them to keep challenging them for years to come. It often doesn’t “seem like a workout” because it is taught by experienced teachers who give you just enough of a challenge to keep you progressing, but not so much that you hate it and don’t feel like you can do it. It doesn’t seem like a workout because it entertains your body and brain at the same time.

What if our criteria for what a workout included things like movement time that gave me noticeable feel better in my body results? Movement time that challenged my body and brain to do things that I don’t do often in my regular life like moving my spine in lots of different directions or gently stretching muscles that are often shortened and tight?

I have nothing against workouts that are super challenging and workouts that make you drip sweat. These types of workouts can produce great results for people and that is amazing.

What I want to point out is that if you are one of those people who isn’t really working out at all or maybe someone who has never tried Pilates because you thought it wouldn’t really count as a workout…maybe it’s time to change how you think about your movement and exercise time. I could almost guarantee that if you are not feeling the best in your body right now…Pilates could help! Give it a try!