What would you say would be three main key benefits to Clinical Pilates?
• Evidence-Based and Led by a Physiotherapist
Physio group exercise classes or clinical Pilates are the gold-standard in exercise rehabilitation care and use an evidence-based clinical approach which is individualised and specific to each person.
Each participant is completing their own specific exercise program for the class. At the beginning of each session, the physiotherapist will check in on how you are feeling that day and will tailor the class to your needs. The goal of each class is to address any assessment findings safely through exercise. Many people also attend classes for performance-based goals and the physiotherapist will have an evidence-based exercise plan to reach such goals.
Physiotherapists undergo extensive training in exercise rehabilitation and prescription which equips them with the skills to create an evidence-based exercise plan for you.
• Supervised Classes
You are supervised by a physiotherapist for the entire class. Supervised exercise has been shown to be beneficial as you can ensure that you are carrying out the exercise correctly and you are held accountable to complete all the required repetitions of the exercise for the desired effect.
Supervised exercise has been shown to be more favourable than unsupervised exercise in research settings as it improves exercise compliance and helps us reach our goals quicker. All professional sport settings tend to adhere to exclusively supervised exercise for this reason.
As the class is supervised, your physiotherapist is on hand to answer any queries on the spot. If a specific exercise is feeling uncomfortable, your physiotherapist is highly skilled to adapt the technique or advise you on the exercise on the spot.
• Small Group Setting
Our classes are capped at five people which enables individualised and thorough care for the entire class.
Although there is no requirement to socialise with other class participants, many people find it motivating to exercise with others and share injury stories. Often participants may have experience of similar pain or injuries and can often find it comforting to talk to other people experiencing similar pain. This can be especially beneficial for people with chronic pain. Group exercise has been shown to improve motivation to exercise, which helps ensure that we stick with our exercise plan.
Although some people tend to develop friendships with other class participants by seeing each other at regular class-times, this is certainly not a formal necessity and others tend to enjoy the individualised approach to exercise where there is no pressure to engage with others.
Can Clinical Pilates help with specific injuries?
These classes are ideal for people with specific injuries/ pain or athletes aiming to improve performance through specific strength, motor control or biomechanical change. We tend to see a large diversity of clients attending clinical classes from new mother`s wanting to get back to exercise safely, runners with a new PB goal, older adults aiming to prevent falls, adolescents wanting to improve posture, footy players trying to prevent further hamstring strains and office workers striving to get on top of neck and back pain.
Physio group exercise classes can also be a great post-operative tool and we work in collaboration with orthopaedic specialists and physicians to begin your rehabilitation. Exercise rehabilitation is integral to achieve best outcomes following all orthopaedic surgery, especially following joint replacement surgery.
What is the difference between Pilates and Clinical Pilates?
Pilates exercises are just a small fraction of the exercise repertoire used in physio-led exercises classes or clinical Pilates. In the classes, exercise selection will be completed in an evidence-based manner, using a combination of Pilates, strength & conditioning, mobility and balance exercises.
Traditional Pilates classes typically comprise of larger group classes with all participants completing the same exercise routine together that is not specific to them and lack specific or individual direction on their exercise technique. The majority of Pilates classes usually just use one piece of equipment (reformer). In contrast, in clinical Pilates classes are smaller group sizes with everyone completing a specific program tailored to their needs using a wider variety of exercise equipment.
The exercises completed in your clinical exercise class are very considered and are chosen for a specific clinical reason. In contrast, traditional Pilates classes do not have a clinical basis to exercise selection and tend to be chosen randomly by the instructor.
Please contact one of our friendly reception staff for more information or to book an appointment with Mairead via ph: 1300 859 887
