Most people think that physical therapy is for treatment purposes only, if you have had an injury or suffer with a constant ache or pain, but there is, in fact, a lot more to it than that. Physical Therapists are trained to conduct a detailed analysis of your body, and your body’s needs, and they are the best people to create an exercise and fitness regime that is catered to you.

Low-impact and accessible physical therapy programs like Therapeutic Pilates can work as a great way to re-establish your posture and increase your core strength, which is one of the keys to overall physical health. The advanced form of Pilates, Therapeutic Pilates, involves core training, integration of senses, breathing techniques, and spinal posture alignment to name a few.

The repetition of exercises associated with Pilates and yoga can actually change your mindset if you use it regularly and as an exercise method. As a result, it can adjust the way your body moves and reacts, helping to prevent long term injury and correct long term problems, like a curved spine or bad posture.

The program is based around something called Developmental Kinesiology, the levels of motor control within your Central Nervous System. These are the primal reflexes your body has established from a young age, they are natural to your body and often difficult to change. The Therapeutic Pilates program stimulates these reflexes, and helps to develop them further, so any problems or restrictions you have with your inherent reflexes can be retrained. This means that mistakes you may have been making with your body prior to your Pilates training can be fixed, so it’s never too late.

The physical therapy training focuses on your core, or your spine. When your spine is unstable it can lead to genuine back problems and result in severe pain, with Therapeutic Pilates your body is trained to recognize these spinal muscles and take advantage of them. You may not believe it, but most people do not know how to control and activate their core, their spine, and as result it can become overloaded and strained.

But this form of physical therapy doesn’t just benefit your core, as a result of strengthening your spine and key muscles, your whole body will feel the benefits, particularly your abdominals. Its low impact techniques also mean there is no risk to further injury, as long as you are being instructed by a professional, as trying this yourself can be a little risky. At any age, and with any ability level, you can use Pilates to improve your fitness, remedy a pain or ache, and increase your flexibility.

Accompanied by a Rehabilitation Program, this exercise form is vital to recovery and prevention of injury and pain. And anyone can do it!