How Pilates Can Relieve Scoliosis Pain

Pilates and Scoliosis

A potentially debilitating condition, scoliosis causes a curvature of the spine, affecting over 6 million Americans as per the National Scoliosis Foundation statistics. If you seldom experience severe pain in the back, uneven waist and shoulders, and difficulty in breathing, you may be suffering from scoliosis, which can be due to spinal degeneration or congenital causes. However, Pilates can help correct your distorted body shape and change the factors involved in the unbalanced musculature by integrating the musculoskeletal system with the mind. Pilates exercises offer physical and mental conditioning to improve flexibility, strength, and postural awareness.

How Pilates Can Help Scoliosis

As scoliosis begins to pull and stretch the muscles along the spine, it begins to lose support. Practicing Pilates will help keep the spine centered and steadfast; though it cannot correct the curve, it can surely help in rebalancing the shape through posture correction. As a result, you can manage the aches and pains that have thus far been troubling you. Regular practice of Pilates exercises will work on raising your awareness, helping you take control of every move you make to improve spinal alignment, allow posture adjustment, strengthen muscles around joints, rebalance the body while simultaneously working on the disappearance of discomfort and contractions, which are often a result of poor posture. Certain Pilates exercises tone and stretch muscles surrounding the spine, focusing on both sides of the body rebalance. Since various Pilates exercises focus on body and core conditioning and strengthening, and muscle toning, you would experience considerable improvement in flexibility, body awareness, posture, balance, and breathing when you practice the different poses targeting scoliosis. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, moderate exercise in the form of Pilates can help prevent disk degeneration and maintain healthy supportive muscles. However, the university researchers urge caution for patients that have undergone spinal fusion surgery, stating that more research is required to establish whether Pilates is safe for such individuals.

Role of Pilates Instructor

A well-trained Pilates instructor will initially focus on training the pelvic floor and inner unit, which will lay the ground for correcting the posture and curved spine. This will help you become aware of internal control and understand how to move in and out of neutral spine, thus helping you hold your spine from the inside and establish a balanced posture. You will learn how Pilates can help align the hips and torso and keep the tissues along the spine strong and healthy.