What is Clinical Pilates Physiotherapy?

Clinical Pilates Physiotherapy combines traditional Pilates movements with the best motor learning and anatomical research to treat the entire body and kinetic chain, getting to the root cause of your pain or injury. It uses specialized Pilates equipment (the reformer) and Pilates mat exercises as well as manual therapy techniques as needed to bring you the ideal tool for both training and rehab.

Widely utilized by Physiotherapists in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, as well as more recently by the top professional NBA, NFL teams and athletes like tennis star Serena Williams and soccer player Christiano Ronaldo to both recover fully from injuries and prevent future injuries from occurring.  Amateur or elite athletes, and anyone wanting to live an active lifestyle can benefit from Clinical Pilates to help prevent injuries from occurring, improve strength, stability, power, and flexibility, as well as rehab subacute or chronic injuries.

Who are our clients? 

Both men and women benefit from Clinical Pilates Physiotherapy and you do not need any Pilates experience prior to treatment. We see youth and adolescents all the way to seniors and every age in-between.

Many of our clients see us for the following conditions or symptoms:

• Pre-post-operative care from ACL, meniscal injury, Labral Tear, Hernia or abdominal surgery, rotator cuff or distal bicep repair, total knee or hip replacement
• Reoccurring athletic injuries: muscle strains, ankle sprains, Achilles tendinopathy, IT Band Syndrome
• Pre/ Post- natal preparation for deliver, recovery, and return to activity
• Rehabilitation for chronic muscle tightness or pain
• To improve strength, flexibility, balance, coordination
• Injury prevention especially for rotational sports (golfers, baseball), runners, unilateral sports (hockey, curling), dancers and gymnasts
• Sport specific training (load transfer, increasing power output)
• Low back and/or hip pain
• Poor posture, neck or back tension
• Arthritis
• Foot pain or poor arch control
• Core weakness or dissociation
• Many pelvic girdle pain and pelvic floor dysfunction

What can you expect in an appointment?

An initial assessment will allow you and your physiotherapist to review you current concerns and formulate individualized movement goals. Based on your needs we will establish a treatment plan that may involve both in-clinic exercises and at home exercises.

The Pilates equipment in the clinic allows modifications to any exercise to alleviate any pain sensations and also isolate certain muscles and movement patterns unlike any other piece of exercise equipment. 

The physiotherapist will use a variety of verbal and tactile cues to help ensure you are activating the appropriate muscles and movement patterns.  These cues are ways for you, the patient to feel like you have a strong understanding on what we are asking your body to do in clinic so that eventually you can recreate the sensations on your own at home, work or during sport.

Clinical Pilates Physiotherapy sessions focus on treating the entire body while addressing the interaction between posture, breathe, alignment of the spine and affiliated joints as well as the core throughout the body. The treatment is usually exercise focused and will not only address strength but also freedom of movement while mitigating pain and increasing overall body awareness.  Education and self-care are foundational in patients achieving the best results. 

Manual therapy, IMS (dry needling), and electrotherapy treatment modalities may be included in a session if deemed beneficial to treating your condition by the physiotherapist.

These appointments are one-on-one between you and your physiotherapist for your specific appointment time so please be aware that if you are late to an appointment, we cannot unfortunately extend your appointment block as we will have another patient booked in after you.

What should I wear to a Clinical Pilates Appointment?

Please be prepared to exercise.  Wear comfortable clothing that you are able to bend and move in with ease.  You will be asked to go barefoot or wear socks (preferably grippy socks) on the equipment.

Do I need to have a background in Pilates?

No! You absolutely can have no prior Pilates experience before an appointment, we will teach you everything you need to know.

I see a physiotherapist already should I see Clinical Pilates Physiotherapists at the same time?

Each case is specific but generally you can concurrently see a Clinical Pilates Physiotherapists and a standard, pelvic floor, orthopedic or neuro physiotherapist.  Think of it just as another treatment modality to help you on your way to wellness.