Reformer Therapy is a bespoke individually designed exercise programme enabling you to get back to doing what you love. I am very proud of the results my clients achieve from these personally tailored programmes that help people with recovery from injury and move on from persistent pain. Reformer Therapy re-aligns, supports, stabilisies and improves ankle, knee, hip, spine and shoulder joint complexes.
Reformer workouts are currently very fashionable, however, Pilates has been around for over 90 years. If you want a Hollywood A Listers instagramable workout, I can do that too, but the purpose of Reformer Therapy is for re-habilitation as was Pilates’ original intention. Joseph Pilates was a medic but was mainly self taught , yet he was years ahead of his time. He used movement as medicine to correct and heal the body; lengthening, moblilising, strengthening, reducing stiffness and preventing further injuries. Reformer Therapy uses his genius method and principles together with up to date scientific knowledge.
Reformer Therapy is an internationally accepted and recognised qualification endorsed by REPS & CIMPSA created by physiotherapists and lead clinical reformer practitioners. Taught on a one to one basis, at your convenience, to your own pace, it is an effective, holistic and therapeutic approach to movement re-education of movement restrictions. You are in the safe hands of an experienced trainer, qualified to the highest level. Be aware that some Pilates teachers are only Level 1 whereas Pilates Reformer Therapist is to the highest level – L4.
Up to date findings are now showing that long term pain medication and ‘hands on’ manual type therapies only work in the short term, bringing only a temporary respite from pain. They mask or manage, but do not try to restore healthy movement. Studies have also shown that scanning and imaging techniques are useful for showing structural changes such as fracture but more than 90% do not show a serious structural issue, so they are not helpful in showing, for instance, the cause of someones back pain, leaving some conditions unclear. What is clear is that living in pain is not normal, nor it it a pre-requisite of ageing, or just wear and tear, yet a third of the UK population still live with chronic and debilitating musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis and back pain.
More often than not, a weak core is cited as the ‘reason’ you may be advised by a physician to try Pilates. Finding an understanding teacher to help your specific requirement is often a daunting prospect. Attending a generic Pilates class or throwing yourself into a gym, where one size fits all, and is meant for those without injuries, is likely to exacerbate your issues because the changes that have happened in your body are not structural. They are due to functional changes.
Reformer Therapy gives you an awareness and learning about how motion in your own body is essential to living a healthier and more active lifestyle. Reformer Therapy targets the ‘core’ first, so movement is initiated from the inside to the outside of your body. Core muscles are small and deep, are close to your spine to support it, but also include your shoulders, abdominals, pelvis and pelvic floor. They are the foundation of your body. You wouldn’t build a house without a strong foundation, would you ? However, many exercise regimes take the core for granted and therefore the foundation is weak as only the larger outside, superficial ‘mover and power’ show off’ muscles are trained. Eventually, the body becomes injured as the foundation is weak and unstable – your house starts showing cracks. Superficial muscles cannot sustain this regime on their own, the whole of the body is interconnected and muscles need to function together to spread the workload evenly. Without this teamwork your body will become injured.
Quite simply, bodies want to move as they were made to do, and with movement growth hormone is stimulated enabling a natural regeneration; new available cells replace expended cells. For example, the body regenerates bone within ten years. We are not cars that routinely need replacement parts. The body can heal. There is hope. Joints require maintenance – regular movement – to create the release of synovial fluid – the lubricant – that is needed to keep them healthy. Muscles move joints and need to be both flexible and strong, in the correct tension /ratio to length to be able to move the joints fully. Over time, without synergy, this un-eveness creates stress on joints and excessive wear and tear, creating pain in the body due to the skeleton not being supported as it should be. The brain will always look for a path with the least resistance so it can move the body, by recruiting any muscles it can, they then become stressed and injured. Consequently the pain this causes can become chronic, with long term pain ruining lives. A catch 22 situation of avoidance of movement, because of the fear of more pain, further compounds the issue.
During our everyday life we develop poor movement/muscle patterns which become a ‘habit’, for example: sitting hunched at computer, a slouched driving position, bending forward with the legs straight etc. By retraining the body and mind we can become more efficient in the way we move and exercise pain free. Reformer Therapy promotes proper alignment of all the bodily tissues, so there is less stress and pain, creating better posture and the ability to move freely in a fuller range of motion. As a stimulative and assistive form of exercise it optimises the acquisition of movement with a re-education of movement patterns that have become ‘set’ or switched off after injury from both habit, trauma, or long term compensation.
Compensation patterns happen when a muscle (or group of muscles) is unable to properly move a joint through a range of motion. This may happen after an initial injury has ‘healed’. Some of the more common types of compensation injuries I see are: Lower back or hip pain starting after a foot or ankle injury because the lower back and hips are picking up some of the work of the foot or ankle.
Reformer Therapy uses release techniques, mobility, strengthening and stretching exercises that are reinforced with homework in video format if the client needs it . The result is movement with a reduction of negative forces, stimulation and correction of dysfunctional movement patterns, re-establishment of neural recruitment of micro control across joint structures and stimulation of muscle contraction and control. Research theories in motor learning, biomechanics, and musculoskeletal physiology help support the phenomena experienced by many Pilates Reformer Therapy practitioners.
So, where do you start ? …especially when you are fearful of movement causing more pain.
You can relax now – I’ve got you. It is time to take action.
Initially a full postural assessment is taken so that advice can be given to improve your posture and find out which exercises are going to be the most beneficial. It enables me to see how you move, for you to familiarise yourself with the equipment and to see if we are a good fit to work together. The exercises you will be shown form the baseline, from where you will build and restore functional movement, are, in themselves, extremely beneficial for you to do and will become your ‘homework’.
After the assessment, we take steps to dampen down the fire of the overly protective nervous system as it is in red alert – fight or flight mode. Specialist proven, science based re-set and ‘reboot’ methods are given to soothe this parasympathetic reaction and to switch back on the core muscles. These involve minimum movement so the fear of pain is lessened. Together with controlled breathwork the nervous system starts to calm.
Then we can release tight, weakened areas. Pilates Therapy is slow, mindful, gentle movement allowing you to be in control. The next steps of mobilising, strengthening, stretching are then taken care of by the exercises that are performed on the Pilates Reformer. They become a safe and natural progression, with a renewed energy and the joy of pain free movement. Bodies do want to move and start to crave it. Believe it or not, we even have start to have fun during the sessions and my clients tell me they start to look forward to attending.
When or if surgery is the only option, from diagnosis to treatment may mean joining a lengthy waiting list. Pilates Therapy means you can still and should still be able to exercise due to the support the equipment gives. Recovery from surgery is generally quicker and easier with pre and post operative remedial exercise.
I was sceptical about Pilates at first. I wish I had known what I now know. I could have saved myself from so much of the pain I experienced from my own musculoskeletal issues. It is the reason I want to help others. The right kind of Pilates movement really is medicine – it restores your healthy movement.
Some of the above may have resonated with you, if so please do not hesitate to contact me for a chat to see if we could work well together. I will commit to support you on your journey to a better quality of life to the best of my ability in my role as a professional movement specialist. However, I cannot work with everyone – I am unable to offer you a pathological diagnosis, as this is outside my scope, I may need you to have explored this before we meet. In order for you to achieve your goals, there needs to be a commitment from you to do up to six times of exercise movement a week, one/two will be a physical session on the Pilates Reformer with me once/twice a week for a minimum of six weeks (this will be a min of 15 mins per day). This is an investment in your future health and I hope it will be the best decision you ever make.
In the words of Joseph Pilates —
“The acquirement and enjoyment of physical well-being, mental calm and spiritual peace are priceless to their possessors”
Angela Williams Mat Pilates groups 