Healthy Spine
The National Spine Health Foundation categorizes a healthy spine through the following elements: strong vertebrae, flexible spinal ligaments, cushiony discs, strong back muscles, and healthy, moveable facet joints. The spine itself has 33 stacked vertebrae, 2 paired facet joints for each spinal level in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions, 23 discs, and numerous ligaments and muscles that all work together to provide support to the body's central column. Joe Pilates saw the spine as the “foundation” of the body. He was quoted as saying “if your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30 you are old, if it is completely flexible at 60 you are young.”
Why is Pilates good for spinal health? Pilates was designed to work the body as a whole, and the equipment was created to condition the entire body using positions and movements which ultimately correct body alignment and balance. His exercises work in all the cardinal planes of movement, flexion, extension, lateral flexion, abduction, adduction, and rotation. As you go through the exercises whether on the mat or on an apparatus you will find that stabilizing muscle groups are encouraged to work in a manner that supports optimal alignment and mobility during movement. When the spinal muscles are working optimally we find a natural axial elongation creating segmental mobility in the spine, and decreasing the compressive and shear forces that are thought to cause spinal pathology and pain.
When we look at movement, the body likes to take the path of least resistance, and we find increased movement at the most flexible segments of the spine. The goal of Pilates-based spinal mobility exercises is to create even movement throughout all spinal segments so the load is distributed evenly through all the segments instead of just the most mobile ones. We often see breakdowns and pathology in the transitional zones such as the cervical segments 5-7, and the low lumbar segments 4, 5 and the first sacral segment as these tend to be the zones that move. As a clinician, when a client comes in with an image that shows pathology at these segments it is not a giant red flag to stop moving. The truth is most of us are walking around with pathology in our backs that we don’t know about because the pathology itself does not equal pain. Take a moment to digest that….pathology DOES NOT equal pain. Our goal is to focus on the body in front of us and not its image. When I am working with a client I am looking for how their body is able to organize, how many spinal segments are they actually able to move through, how easily they are able to find their axial elongation, and can they breathe. From there we design a plan that will create better support around segments that are taking on the stress, work on improving the mobility around the segments that are stiff, and creating a natural elongation and articulation in the spine.
One too many times I have been working with a client who is improving and then received the results from an MRI and suddenly has taken three steps backwards. When it comes to spinal pathology I work to let people know that just because the radiologist read something on their MRI it does not mean it's a life sentence to no longer move. The body is incredibly resilient, and with the right guidance can return to full function. Our goal as Pilates based practitioners is to help you regain your life through movement, just like Joe Pilates intended.
