Pilates for an Injured Rotator Cuff
Committing yourself to a healthy and active lifestyle is by far one of the greatest things that you can do for yourself. But as are all things in life, there is the unfortunate pendulum swing of consequences awaiting you at the end of your workout. Specifically, certain injuries will occur when the body is over trained or the muscles in the body are imbalanced. This is especially the case when it comes to rotator cuff injuries, which is an all too common side effect of certain activities like basketball, baseball, tennis, volleyball and even Frisbee.
First and foremost when any one suspects they may have an injured rotator cuff, see a doctor. Self-medicating is a sure fire way to increase an injury or to even sideline your self indefinitely. Pain medications may be able to keep the inflammation down, but at some point you will need to retrain the area, and build it back up so that is can become a working part of your body once again.
Before starting any workout program get clearance from your physician. If the rotator cuff is still in it’s acute injury stage, then any activity, no matter how small, will be worsening the condition and in some cases- to the point beyond repair. So get an expert opinion before you take part in rehabilitating the injury.
Pilates rehabilitation is one of the most gentle and effective ways that you can begin reintroducing the muscles within your shoulder to each other. The concept of Pilates rehabilitation is not to focus on the rehabbing the injured area alone, but instead Pilates has an ideology that includes the entire body in its rehabilitation program. Call it a “blanket goal”, if you will, which is a process of creating a working relationship between all members of the body and not just “fixing” the injury. This means that while a rotator cuff is being slowly strengthened through a series of Pilates based exercise, Pulleys, bands, and stretching, the rest of the body assists in the recovery and in the process is building up the rest of the body.
One of the biggest threats that a rotator cuff injury presents, or any injury for that matter, is the possibility of muscle dystrophy in and around the muscles of the area. Dystrophy is when the muscle breaks down, losing its strength and therefore becoming the weak side or spot of your body. Once one part of the body falls prey to such weakness the rest of the body will compensate for the loss. This creates a waterfall of bad consequences, and will encourage muscular imbalance within the body. As any athlete knows, muscular imbalance is the leading cause of injury. How horrible would it be to not only lose strength and functionality from a rotator cuff injury, only to suffer another injury as a result of the first?
Pilates understands the domino affect that can occur when an injury takes place. After the initial damage to the shoulder there is always a period of time where the injury should be dormant, iced, and rested. However, after the initial stages of the injury have passed Pilates is the perfect step to getting the rotator cuff back into a working relationship with the rest of your body.