Common injuries for runners aren’t just isolated to the knee or the foot; the entire lower body can suffer from the aftermath. Common causes of injury can be overtraining, inconsistent stretching, or the neglect of cross training. Some injuries by name that runners suffer from are: hip bursitis, snapping hip syndrome, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, hip stress fractures, pulled hamstrings, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, overpronation, arch pain, dislocated knee cap, strained sciatica, ankle sprains, etc.

The problem with orthopedic injuries is that once made, they are notorious for plaguing a runner for the rest of their life. Surgery is one alternative to fixing an “off-line” gait, or injured lower body strain, sprain or fracture however, surgery can sometimes add to the problem and end a runner’s route indefinitely. Perhaps the best way to approach orthopedic injuries is to tally up the most effective preventive strategies so that one can safeguard themselves against the most common mistakes that runners make.

Inflexibility in men is extremely common, especially in the hip girdle. This can create tension and tightness in the joints, and makes male runners perform with a higher potential risk of strain on the lower body. Another problem for male runners is that they tend to see stretching as “girlie”. This is a blanket observation, and some of the more precautionary male runners probably understand the importance of flexibility in the everyday training, but others may skip the deeper stretching that can be found in cross training classes such as Pilates.

Pilates is not only a great preventative measure for runners and can curb their laundry list of potential injuries, it is also a great way to incorporate cross training into a runner’s regime. Pilates utilizes the “core” muscles in a deep and sustained way. When the core is engaged, and used in conjunction to running, there is an additional purchase of balanced that is used throughout the body. This is called “neuromuscular control”. When a runner has control over his movements, he is better equipped to prevent injury. Great neuromuscular control has been noted to prevent ACL injury and common ankle sprains.

If prevention is the “A” in a scale of non-serious to serious orthopedic injuries, then rehabilitation can be considered the “Z”. Orthopedic injuries need to be healed gently and over time, while slowly incorporating activity back into the injured areas. This is where Pilates rehabilitation becomes just what the doctor ordered and the athlete needs.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that is incredibly painful, because it is the most uncomfortable when the body is in movement. This causes extreme stress on the joints as a result of the thinning and wearing down of the cartilage within the body. Wherever a joint meets a bone there is a potential danger for osteoarthritis. While not commonly categorized as a “sports injury”, osteoarthritis directly targets and negatively affects those that desire to live very active lifestyles.

Mostly osteoarthritis is treated with pain relievers or anti-inflammatory medications, but there is another active relief that will keep osteoarthritis pain at bay while keeping a healthy lifestyle and fit physique at the top of the “aging athletes” injury prevention list.

Pilates is an excellent form of rehabilitation for those suffering from osteoarthritis. And here’s why: Stretching is key to the overall well being of your body’s health. It is very common that lifetime athletes invested a lot of time in pushing the limits of their body, elevating their hearts, increasing times, jumping higher, swimming faster, and hardly taking days off for recovery however recovery and stretching is king when it comes to maintaining overall health. Even some of the most attuned athletes still don’t make stretching a priority, even though they have heard the sermon a thousand times.

If osteoarthritis is a problem, now is the time to take the out your dusty notes and begin adding active stretching to your routine. Once you feel the relief of Pilates, you will wonder why you didn’t make it a priority on a very consistent basis.

Deep stretching, like all forms found in Pilates, releases important nutrients into your body, particularly into the tendons and the muscles. These nutrients help keep your body healthy and also help minimize the risk of injury that can be caused when the chemistry within the body is lacking the proper balance.

Pilates will soothe the pain that causes suffering. Lengthening the body through a series of Pilates circuits, whether that is mat Pilates or machine Pilates, will allow a safe and effective “use” of the injured areas. As a result these areas will be “worked out”, addressing locked joints, tight muscles, and trouble spots and releasing the tension therein. This type of active stretching is gentle for those that suffer from the condition, but also allow for movement within the joints keeping them engaged in activity without the pain of high impact exercise.

One other thing that Pilates does in the way of helping an aging athlete, is that it’s deep stretching will help fight fatigue that most osteoarthritis injuries can cause. Being alert, and able to live your life pain free while maintaining an active lifestyle is an ideal position for you to be in. Pilates is the portal that is standing between you and a life of eliminated tension.

The cartilage that is underneath the kneecap is the working connector between the femur and the knee, which enables smooth flex between the two bones. If this cartilage is in working order, a certain “slickness” will be felt when the body flexes the knee. If Chrondomalacia is a factor, there will be a rough response, which will result in agitation. Such a simple movement as flexing the knee, walking, running, and/or going up or down stairs etc., will be met with unduly friction between the bones and will cause minimal to monumental levels of pain, depending on the consistency of daily movement and the enduring nature of the condition.

While self-diagnosis is never recommended when suffering any kind of pain, symptoms of Chrondomalacia may help in pinpointing the condition, if you have assumptions that you may be suffering from it, or a physician has confirmed it. Walking down the stairs will be one of the biggest determining factors of Chrondomalacia condition. A deadening pain will be felt from behind the knee, when doing so as well as getting up from a seated, cross-legged position, or climbing a flight of stairs, sidewalk, or walking on any steeply graded surface. For those that are involved in an active lifestyle, you may want to consider discontinuing the sport until you can begin a rehabilitation program. This condition is most common in soccer players, bicyclists, runners (both long distance and sprinters), and in downhill skiers.

When searching for treatment most Chrondomalacia sufferers will be told to seek out low impact exercises that will prohibit further strain on the knees. Pilates rehabilitation is a great fit for those that suffer from this condition because it will strengthen the injured area as well as the surrounding muscles, all the while gently stretching and building up the muscles that can protect the damaged cartilage from further harm.

When choosing a Pilates rehabilitation instructor to help you with this condition, it is best to choose someone familiar with Chrondomalacia. While Pilates is an excellent form of gentle rehabilitation methods, it also has quite a bit of poses and positions that use the knees as the baseline for the body. Someone who is familiar and well versed with Chrondomalacia will know that this is not an option for you, and will develop an effective Pilates rehabilitation program that can still strengthen the knees, through a series of Pilates work without putting added, and potentially dangerous stress on them.

Our bodies oftentimes reflect what we feel on the inside and vice versa. Pilates is relaxing invigorating, spiritual experience, that if sued correctly can give you more control over your mood and happiness than you could have every imagined. Once your spirits are lifted, your shoulders will fall back into the correct position, the head will be held high, and the body can move with ease in the way it was meant to.

One factor that can’t be helped but can be relieved through Pilates is heredity. Sometimes our bodies are prone to be a certain ay. Many abnormal spinal conditions can play a big part in this such as Lordosis (sway back, an abnormal curve in the lower back), scoliosis, and countless others. These can be handed down from generation to generation. While you may not be able to reverse the effects you can certainly slow them down by incorporating Pilates into your everyday repertoire.

Surprisingly one of the most common factors of poor posture can be found on your feet. Shoes, believe it or not, can affect the way you carry yourself throughout the day and over time can cause severe damage to our feet, and spinal alignment, High heels especially need to be chosen with your health in mind. Shoes that are too tight, to high, or ones that can cause discomfort, tingling or cramping in the feet are not good for the body. Each person has their own gait, and this can be seen from the wear and tear of your shoes If you notice that the outside of your shoe or the inside of your shoe, as opposed to all edges evenly, gets worn down, you may want to go see an orthopedist and make sure that you are taking care of your feet the way you should.

Not only do shoes, but also clothing can affect your posture. Wearing something that is too tight, or way too big can affect the way someone carries himself or herself. Big sweatshirts can sometimes encouraging slouching, since we can realize our body weight into the room. However, something that is too tight can cause us to pull on the shoulders, stick out the chest, or walk differently than we would if we were wearing clothes that fit us well.

When getting ready in the morning, take a few deep breaths and listen to your body. If you quiet yourself enough, you will be able to feel where you are most tense, what needs massaging or stretching, and when you show up at the Pilates studio you can tell your instructor exactly what you need to help counterbalance the poor postural habits that we all have in one way or another.

First of all, a good chunk of the majority of first time Pilates students are of the “injured” kind. Pilates’ rehabilitative components have gained worldwide renown for its healing abilities. However, a natural response within the body when it falls victim to an injury is to guard the protected area. Our minds immediately remind us to lie off of using the injured area and any joints surrounding it.

This type of “eggshell” walking around an injury is necessary in the beginning stages of an injury, but becomes less and less necessary as the body begins to heal itself. If you’re not gently reintroducing movement into the injured area while you are recovering, the muscles will begin to dystrophy. This will cause an imbalance within the bodies muscles and oftentimes will affect the body’s overall alignment.

Those who struggle with disease, particularly the kind of diseases that affect the body’s ability to remain hydrated and to retain nutrition can cause extremely adverse postural responses. Anorexia, malnutrition, bulimia, and low body weight, are all factors that can leech the strength out of the bones making the body more susceptible to injury, and will literally cause the body to shrink in statue and in ability.

Muscle tension that isn’t addressed, stretched or assuaged into release can pull on the body’s musculature and “knot” the back into abnormal alignment. Not only will unaddressed tightness be a cause for postural concern, but also weak muscles that are not used on a weekly basis will continue to deteriorate raising risk for injury and force the body to overcompensate in other ways, such as stress on joints and bones that would otherwise be assisted by working, strong muscles.

Habits that we form over time are perhaps the biggest instigators of poor posture, and one of the hardest factors to fix. When the body is in motion it naturally will adjust its weight and spinal alignment to accommodate poor patterns of posture in order to maintain the “forced”, another word could be cheating, order of your body’s line of movement. Unless altered by outside forces, these postural habits can dictate the purchase of your everyday movement. Unless corrected it can physically make you pay for years of neglect by developing into a serious injury. When the body has to rely upon less efficient modes of movement, it compromises the overall health of the body by accommodating unnecessary and unhealthy mind body association requests.

Stress and the way you look at the world can also be one of the main factors that your body’s health and alignment can be compromised. Pilates is a unique exercise because it not only offers it’s clients relief from tension, poor habitual patterns, weak muscles, and fragile bones, it also can lift your spirits and realign your thinking.

Even though skiers tend to be in great shape, that doesn’t make them less prone to injury. Muscular imbalance is one of the greatest threats to a skier’s health. Pulling a ligament or tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are some of the more common injuries along with back injuries, knee injuries and medical collateral ligament tears (MCL). Pilates acts as a great preventative measure to keeping the hip girdle and the lower extremities in working and optimum condition. “Catching an edge” is a common phrase for losing your balance and tumbling tea over kettle. Pilates strengthens the adductors and abductors to help counterbalance this effect.

For skiers usually when their form is faulted they are at the greatest risk for injury. Poor form is unfortunately very common on the slopes, especially for those that are day trip skiers and not professional. Pilates can correct incorrect postural modules as well as provide physical therapy through Pilates rehabilitation to aide an already injured skier. Providing proper muscle coordination to these imbalance are most common in the lower back and the knee injuries are usually where the brunt of poor muscle recruitment is developed.

Closed chain exercises are the main attack against skiing injuries. In Pilates these are described as when a student will keep their foot in direct contact with the strap/board/bar/mat/floor, to help jump-start that proper muscle alignment that the body has previously been lacking. Another benefit to Pilates physical therapy is that is teaches functional movement. When the body is properly aligned, then the more passive structures of the body such as the MCL will be better protected and less likely to be the brunt of poor body mechanics.

In addition to the closed chain exercise an injured skier, or one that doesn’t want to become an injured skier should also include Pilates exercises that focus on the muscles found in the quadriceps namely, the vastus medialis oblique and the gluteus medius. For proper knee alignment, these two muscles need to be properly utilized in order to stabilize the knee and hip joints.

One of the trademark benefits of Pilates, whether it is for rehabilitation or for prevention, is core stabilization. For a skier this is a huge necessity for a safe and fun ride. Most of the lower back injuries that are made while skiing are due to either overuse or improper use of the lower back due to an unhealthy balance of weight sharing capabilities between the abdominals and the back. Understanding and developing proper abdominal recruitment through the Pilates class can correct this.

However, as with any new exercise it needs to be done with careful consideration and proper assistance. A Pilates instructor will guide you along in your workouts, help you plot goals, achieve new levels of physicality, and develop a pattern into which your body can safely and effectively respond. Because Pilates uses all of the muscles within the body statically and simultaneously, it is strengthening and lengthening the muscles with ease and gentility all at the same time.

The one “miracle” of sorts about Pilates is that its workout feels different to the body than traditional exercise. It may even feel like you are not doing enough in your Pilates session, if you are used to a certain type of strenuous workout. Because of the exercises unique ability to work the muscles in a functional capacity, you may or may not notice the work being done, even thought you are working. For those that don’t like to feel strained or have a lower tolerance for endurance activity and pain during their workouts, Pilates may be a great option for you.

Don’t get me wrong, Pilates is a hard workout! If you don’t necessarily “feel it” in the duration of the work, you will most definitely feel it the next day. The deep muscles that used in the integration of the various body positions, will shock the body, since those muscles usually lie dormant unless called upon by certain core strengthening positions. Those certain core strengthening positions, Pilates offers in spades.

In addition to Pilates not being a quick fix for weight loss, there is always the need for balance in any exercise program. When Pilates is coupled with cardiovascular exercise, this combination of calorie burning fuel and deep muscle strength training will result in a lean taut body, and will increase the rate at which your body metabolizes calories. While Pilates isn’t a cardiovascular or a “muscle building” workout it does tone the muscles, making them stronger and increasing their ability to endure. The more muscle fibers there are in the body, the more calories the body will burn even at rest.

Pilates can help you lose weight and will tone your body in ways you never imagined possible. Because the effort your body puts forth in a single session is so concentrated, it may feel like you are not “doing” enough. The results will speak for themselves, and you will see that focused effort in smaller doses is better than sporadic efforts in larger bursts.

With attention to your diet and consistent participation in cardiovascular exercise 3-5 times a week, Pilates may be that key that will retrain your brain to think of exercise as a functional way to increase the quality and health of your life, instead of a separate entity to help you simply lose weight.

Creating a relationship with your horse, through movement and control is what all horse lovers and professionals aspire to achieve. Moving within the saddle while maintaining a stable base with proper form is one of the major concerns of accomplished equestrians. Based upon habits in the daily bank of movement, improper form and spinal irregularities can develop over time. What happens outside of the arena, how you move the body during the day, directly affects the health of the rider and sometimes the performance of the horse itself.

When riding a horse, common body postures such as rounded shoulders, tight hamstrings, or a tight lower back can limit opportunities for the rider to excel or improve. Pilates improves posture, flexibility, core strength, and balance. Pilates also focuses on lengthening the spine. This elongation allows for a tall and regal look in the saddle and can protect the trunk of the body from spinal compression conditions, and improves overall spinal health. Common benefits that may be of interest to the equestrian include: hip freedom and strengthen, supple lower back muscles, abdominal strengthening, lengthens the leg, and improves body length. In order to assist a rider in creating the ultimate riding experience, the body needs to be listened to and the mind in control. Jostling, and improper form can result in injury and muscular imbalances.

A nonpartisan hip placement is necessary for a rider to follow the movement of the horse with ease and yet still own subtle command. Jumping form can also be improved through the study of Pilates, as it can help a person to absorb the horse’s movement with whole-body control. As any equestrian knows your body can easily get jostled around in the seat if not held down by a necessary “deep seat” position. Pilates can help you deepen the seat and will ease you into recovery after a certain ride may leave you sore or tender.

Above all, developing a clear line of communication with your horse and earning its trust, as a capable rider and caretaker will improve the horses’ performance as well as the quality of the rides. So much time in training is spent on form, horse and rider positions, the use of aids, and proper movements. Pilates opens up the flow of focus into the mind, spirit, and being of the rider. Performance will follow, once the thought life is in line with the body’s movements. Jumping further, holding a position longer, and sitting deeper into the saddle will not become tasks to remember, but rather just natural progression of one single thought.

For further information on how Pilates can be specifically tailored to meet the needs of the equestrian and the horse, Betsy Steiner has written a book called, “Equilates: A Gymnastic Riding System Using Mind, Body, and Spirit Progressive Training for Rider and Horse”. With principles taken and built upon from the Pilates handbook, it even details a Pilates based workout for the horse.

Once a shoulder has been separated it will be followed by intense tenderness, pain, and even an abnormal swelling or lump near the injury. X-rays may be in order, depending on the severity of the injury and the level of pain associated with it.

Pilates rehabilitation is a great way to acclimate the injury to an active lifestyle after shoulder separation. Rest is the best treatment for shoulder separation, but the strength and mobility in the area will suffer from weakened muscle development, creating an imbalance in the body. Imbalances in the body are the leading cause of injuries, because one side of the body will overcompensate for the latter.

Pilates creates balance within the shoulder joints by implementing it’s unique methods of mind-body control and is able to gently build up weak muscles without making an imbalance within in the body worse.

Pilates focuses on deep stretching and deep breathing, both of which will speed up recovery and increase range of motion within the shoulder. Make sure that your doctor has cleared your condition before you begin any treatment program.

Rowing, in water or in the gym, is a great way to pop your upper body into shape and tighten up your lower body. It’s intense strength demands on the shoulder girdle and the upper and lower back muscles surpass those of running and other aerobic activities, which bring along with it a complete set of potential injuries. If someone is a dedicated rower, they won’t let the intensity derail their goals. However, overuse injuries will call out a rower’s debt if they have failed to include balance in their workouts and will demand that they pay up.

Because rowing doesn’t hold potential for sudden injuries, it is generally easy on the body, low impact, and develops great maximum oxygen consumption for those involved, the nature of its repetition of movement presents a high propensity for overuse.

Most dedicated rowers don’t take much time off, and will generally train year round to keep themselves in peak condition.

This type of training schedule does not provide balance within itself and for those serious competitors and fitness enthusiasts who take their health seriously understand that including Pilates into their regime will not only act as a preventative measure but also will also increase speed and improve flexibility. In addition, in the case of an overuse injury Pilates rehabilitation offers the proper foundation for recuperation.

These injuries include lower back musculoskeletal injuries, disc herniation, ligament strain and sometimes tearing, and spondylolysis. Because a rower is constantly in the seated position the knees can also become strained, since they are constantly “flexed. Machine Pilates has often been referred to as an underwater ballet. The types of fluid movement found in a Pilates rehabilitation program are exactly what a rower needs to counterbalance such intense, albeit potentially dangerous body positioning.

Since a rower’s form is rigid, and relatively married to an uncompromised tenseness, the balance that Pilates exercises offer will help to loosen the lower back and “shake out” the knees, creating a lubrication of the working joints and muscles. This is a “need” and will assuage the upper body muscles and the knees into understanding and executing proper daily movement outside of the boat.

Another injury that can plague a rower is called “nerve entrapment”. These types of injuries target the neuromuscular pathways in the brain and reveal themselves in conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, numbness in the legs stemming from the knees, and an increase in sciatica flaring.

Pilates rehabilitation is known for its ability to recreate pathways in the brain that can attach proper form and alignment to movement. Finding a Pilates instructor that understands the mechanics of rowing will be invaluable to perfecting your form, and they will know how to train you in the instance that you need to loosen your grip on the oars or need to position your pelvis correctly.