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Pilates Powerhouse

Pilates is good rehabilitation method for SI-Joint dysfunction

The Sacroiliac joint (SI-joint) is located between your pelvic (ilium) and sacrum (sacral vertebrae).This joint does not move very much but it is critical to transferring the load of the upper body to the lower body and provides shock absorption for the spine. SI-joint dysfunction is common source of back pain. The pain is dull, deep pain on your back or buttock and it may refer to the groin, down to the leg. The pain can be similar sciatica-like pain to herniated disc.

SI-joint dysfunction and pain may be caused by sacroiliac joints hypermobility (too much movement) or hypomoblity (too little movement). Si-joint hypermobility (joint instability) is typical for young woman during and after pregnancy. Abnormal or asymmetric forces to the hip and lumbar area may also cause SI-joint hypermobility or even torn ligaments around the joint.

One of the best “treatment” to the SI-joint pain and hypermobility is specific pelvic and spinal muscles strengthening and stabilization program. Pilates and lumbar spinal stabilization training are both very efficient and safe exercises for people with SI-jointdysfunction.

The exercises should focus on strengthening the “inner unit”. The inner unit includes the deep back and abdominal stabilizers; transverse abdominus and multifidus muscles as well as pelvic floor muscles and diaphragm. These muscles are your Pilates powerhouse: roof, walls and floor around your spine and pelvic. The Pilates powerhouse muscles provide stability for the SI-Joint and lumbar-pelvic girdle.

The “outer unit” is also important to stabilize your pelvic and spine. The outer unit consist of the obliques (external & internal), latissimus dorsi, erector spinae and gluteus medius & maximus muscles with thoracolumbar fascia. These muscles and fascia contribute to load transfer through the pelvic region with rotational activities and during gait. Also muscles around your hips such as hip abductors, adductors and rotators are important because they are involved in a proper function of the pelvic girdle while walking and standing.

Many Si-joint dysfunction sufferers compensate their movement (due pain) thus resulting more pain and problems also to their spine and back. To avoid further pain and problems Pilates is a wonderful tool. Only challenge is finding a good Pilates instructor who has knowledge and hands-on-skills to work with SI-joint dysfunction.

People can often get rid of SI-joint pain when they start to practice Pilates with a good teacher. A professional Pilates instructor has an eye on correcting client’s compensation patterns and underlying problems. Individually customized Pilates program can also help increase body awareness which is important part of correcting many postural habits in daily life and activities. A proper posture is extremely important for healthy SI-joint and pelvic alignment. Private Pilates training may be pricey, but it provides big help for anyone to alleviate pain and keep strong. The results will be priceless!

About the Author

Tuula Niskanen has college degrees of Physical Therapy and Physical Education. She holds advanced certifications in Spinal Stabilization Training, Golf Conditioning and Comprehensive Pilates Teaching. She offers private and semi-private Pilates classes with reformer and other equipment at California Pilates Center studio in Carlsbad , CA. More about Tuula’s Pilates services at PilatesWise website http://www.pilateswise.com

If you have experienced the health benefits of Pilates and wish to do workouts at home on Pilates equipment, there are many choices of equipment that would be suitable for your home. Thanks to the explosion in popularity of Pilates, key equipment that used to be found only in the Pilates studio is being produced in lighter weight models to make it easier for people to buy their own Pilates reformer machine, Pilates barrel, tower, or Pilates chair.

If you can’t afford one of each (who can?), which would be the best from this list to get for your home? Certainly the most popular is the reformer, but for good reason- it’s one of the most versatile, and you can get home models that can fold down for storage. But first, a word of caution: don’t just go with the cheapest thing you can find. It probably won’t hold up and may not even allow you to perform the exercise correctly. But if you find a cheap model that gets good reviews, it might be a good product.

The Pilates reformer is very simple as far as home exercise equipment goes. There’s no heavy weights to struggle with. Its basic components are a foot bar, gear box, springs, and the carriage, which is the sliding seat. You can perform exercises sitting, standing, laying down, and kneeling, adding greatly to the different parts of the body that get a workout on this one piece of equipment. The foot bar is adjustable for size, and resistance is provided by the springs, which are color coded and can be used in different combinations to provide the proper degree of resistance. Some cheaper models come with bungee cords. The carriage of the reformer slides along the frame, making you work against the springs. As with all Pilates equipment and Pilates exercises in general, the aim of the reformer is to teach you to move effectively. This means it makes you maintain good posture while initiating movements from the core, which consists of the buttocks, lower back, and abdominals. Pilates, as well as many other fitness experts, consider the core to be the powerhouse of the body.

Once you learn to move from the core, you can build power in the center of your body and gain far greater strength than if you were to do isolating exercises like curls with dumbbells. A Pilates reformer machine can be a great aid in this for the Pilates home practitioner who could benefit from having Pilates apparatus complement their mat exercises.