clinical pilates


“We operate as one integrated,


multi-disciplinary clinic, where clients can choose to either work with a physiotherapist who is pilates trained or work with a fi tness-based pilates instructor for general exercise,” says co-owner and physiotherapist Leslie Abrahams, who has been running the practice with his business partner Ellen Ernstzen for three years. Abrahams, who is a master trainer


and presenter of the APPI pilates method, continues: “We started out as two separate practices, but discovered that they work better when run together. There is a certain amount of success with manual treatments – mobilisations, massage and so on – but if you combine this with exercise-based rehab such as clinical pilates, we fi nd it speeds up the recovery in most cases. “We’re able to get patients moving


at a very low level and then build them up gradually; the pilates equipment is spring-loaded so it eases the pressure of movement and you can adjust the load according to their control, pain and ability. “Because it can be very gentle, pilates


also helps with the fear of movement that many people with pain have. And using movement gives us a tool to check progress, by objectively measuring range of movement from session to session.” The best thing about working within


a health club, Abraham says, is that it offers a captive audience of people who are interested in wellness. It also means they are able to work with people at a higher level of fi tness, such as athletes – diagnosing movement problems and assisting with rehabilitation. Bodies Under Construction is good


for the health club, too: “People make a choice about joining a health club based on the services it provides. Having this service gives the impression that the club is concerned with overall wellness.”


The Third Space The Third Space, based in Soho in London, offers pilates as a method of


“There is a certain amount of success with manual


treatments, but adding clinical pilates speeds up recovery”


42


TRAINING IN CLINICAL PILATES


The two main UK trainers in clinical pilates are Polestar and The Australian Physiotherapy & Pilates Institute (APPI). The APPI method,


developed 10 years ago, integrates the relevant research around pain, orthopaedics, women’s health and sports injuries into a pilates- based approach. The APPI method


delivers a fi ve-stage rehabilitation process that means it can be used with any client, from an acute back pain sufferer right through to elite sportspeople. It teaches a full matwork and full


Pilates for rehab: Fitness professionals can take CPD courses with the APPI to learn the basics


equipment curriculum, in addition to over 10 specialist CPD courses, to physiotherapists and allied health professionals, and now offers its training to the fi tness industry through its CPD programme. The APPI says it is working hard to


consolidate its links with the fi tness world, to enable operators to deliver an integrated healthcare model. Polestar Pilates UK calls its clinical


training Pilates for Rehabilitation. Its teaching applies current research and practice in orthopaedics, sports


rehabilitation in combination with rehabilitation professionals. The independent health club operator offers its pilates within its medical centre, Third Space Medicine. It’s a hub of wellness practitioners, attached to but separate from the gym, which offers many services including a GP, physiotherapists and an osteopath, as well as podiatry, massage, reflexology and acupuncture. Here, the physiotherapists, osteopath and pilates instructors work together to combine their skills – clients are referred between the different practices. “The physio or osteopath will help


correct an injury, but the problem will keep recurring if the client doesn’t continue to strengthen and re-align their body so it starts working for them, rather than against them,” says studio manager Alyssa Kyriakidis. “Pilates takes them beyond their initial treatment, and


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


medicine and movement science to the original principles of pilates, in order to deal with injuries and rehab. The course structure begins with


the fundamentals for dealing with early stage rehab through to high- level patients. Its curriculum teaches applications for the full range of pilates kit, including the reformer, trapeze table, combo chair, ladder barrel and wall unit. It also incorporates mat exercises and small props such as wall/ door springs, rotating disks, balance boards, foam rollers and gym balls. Polestar: www.polestarpilates.co.uk


educates the client in how to prevent future injury and discomfort. “Our pilates instructors work very


closely with the physios and osteopath in the medical centre and they all have plenty of experience in treating clients with injuries and issues ranging from scoliosis to shoulder and knee injuries, post-surgery and much more.” Being located within a health club


setting is extremely benefi cial, she says, because of cross-referral. Personal trainers recommend their clients to the pilates studio, while pilates clients, once well enough, may then choose to use the gym to continue their return to fi tness, all the while having their rehabilitation practitioners on-hand for guidance should they need it. “The Third Space provides a lot of support for the client – they can receive complete, integrated care here, which is great for both the client and for us,” she adds.


march 2011 © cybertrek 2011


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