...and I want to remind you about the Back Care Workshops we are running; this week's Exercise of the Week focuses on Osteoporosis/Osteopenia; and also Your Whole Self looks at dispelling some myths about back health.

 

But first…

 

After a week of no teaching for me, I have been busy in other ways, mostly helping my sister move house, and I had forgotten how stressful this could be. But happy to report she is now safely in her new home and gradually emptying all the boxes!

 

I have also been sorting out all the administrative work that comes with running a business and working for myself, such as meeting with our accountant … something I always dread and usually come away with a feeling of failure in some way … however it was more positive than normal in that he got me focusing on my life and how I want to live … unexpected advice really, but very welcome and got me thinking less about the figures and more about the quality.

 

I finished my week off with my business coach, who always motivates me and encourages me with what my beliefs are about the Pilates world we have created. 

 

So all in all it wasn’t exactly a restful week but certainly a full and positive few days, and lots of what I have decided I will begin to share with you over the next few weeks.

 

We've had a couple of people unexpectedly forced to drop out of these new Workshops, so two spaces are available. Please reply to this Newsletter — with your mobile phone number — if you would like more information about these Back Care Workshops of specialist help for your back. Gem has been the Performance Sport Soft Tissue Therapist at Loughborough University for 9 years, so really knows her stuff, and the Workshops are an absolutely amazing opportunity for you to have access to her. You will not be in safer hands. The Workshops comprise six-weekly sessions in our Loughborough Studio, and start Friday 6 September.

I want to take this opportunity to talk about low back health, and I am talking about non-complicated back pain which is the kind of pain that affects the majority of the population at some point in their lives.

 

Non-complicated back pain is the sort of pain that comes and goes and when it is there it will last for approximately 2 weeks. Sub-acute pain on the other hand can last between 2 weeks to 3 months, while chronic back pain is 3 months plus.

 

I would always advise getting investigations if you are worried about ongoing back pain, either an x-ray, MRI or CT scan will show any abnormalities of the spine such as degenerative discs, herniated, bulging or prolapsed discs. 

 

Even with these conditions which are likely to cause chronic pain, there will be exercises that when prescribed at the appropriate time will be helpful, because much of the pain experienced will come from the muscles around the area that will have shortened, lengthened and weakened or gone into spasm. These muscle imbalances need to be investigated in order to prevent a return to the problem.

 

1. Over 30 years of study conducted in the UK alone have concluded that bed rest is not an effective treatment for acute low back pain but may actually delay recovery. Advice to stay active and to continue ordinary activities results in a faster return to work, less chronic disability, and fewer recurrent problems.

 

2. Exercise is not bad for your back. Honestly, there is no such thing as a dangerous exercise — only exercises that are not appropriate for an individual at a particular time in their rehabilitation. 

 

3. Lots of traditional treatments for back pain address the symptom (the area of pain) instead of the actual cause. A well planned programme of exercises will aim to address the many factors that contribute to back pain, eliminate the pain and then have a maintenance programme that aims to prevent the pain returning - which will enable an individual to return to the activities that they enjoy without the fear of back pain ruining it … which is why Pilates is so good.

 

4. Most back pain is caused by an isolated injury such as lifting something heavy. Some cases can be caused by a single traumatic event such as a car accident, but mostly back pain is from an accumulative injury that builds up over time through repetition, such as sitting postures at work, performing the wrong exercise in the gym over and over again. Then one day you may bend over to tie up your shoe laces or take rubbish out to the bin and ‘ping’ your back goes. This is literally the straw that breaks the camel’s back … but the injury is the result of a build up over the preceding weeks or months.

 

5. Once you have back pain it doesn’t mean that you will have to learn to live with it. This is only true if you have a treatment to relieve it, but then go back to doing what you have always done in exactly the same way … postural exercise programmes aim to treat the cause and then the effect (low back pain) will go away.

 

Good Pilates practice has at its heart postural awareness and a whole body approach to movement and exercise. It is not a treatment, it is a lifestyle approach to health and wellbeing, and can help to alleviate aches and pains when practiced regularly and consistently, but also with variety to ensure the whole body is being worked on equally.

 

 

 

 

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