Pilates emphasizes core stability, and increasing core strength is a focus of nonsurgical scoliosis treatment. Through engaging in controlled movement and specialized breathing, core strength can be increased for more spinal support and stability.
When it comes to exercising safely with scoliosis, activity restrictions/recommendations are case-specific. Pilates is generally approved for scoliosis patients because the potential core-strengthening benefits outweigh the risks, but professional guidance, and approval from a patient’s treatment provider, is necessary.
Before we get to the specifics of pilates for scoliosis, let’s talk generally about why exercise can be both beneficial and risky for scoliosis patients.
Exercise and Scoliosis
Consistent exercise has a number of benefits for people with scoliosis, including the general benefits of exercise and increasing potential treatment efficacy.
There is also an important distinction to be made between general exercise for general health benefits, and the potential of scoliosis-specific exercise to impact the scoliosis itself.
There was a time when being diagnosed with scoliosis was thought to mean a sedentary future, but over the years, we have learned about the many benefits of staying active with scoliosis and the power and potential of scoliosis-specific exercise as a nonsurgical scoliosis treatment option.
There are also a number of professional athletes with scoliosis proving that athletic goals can still be achieved.
Because scoliosis causes the development of an unnatural sideways spinal curve that rotates, the spine is vulnerable to strain and injury.
When a patient starts treatment, sports and exercise need to be approved by the treatment provider, and pilates is often considered a safe and beneficial form of exercise for scoliosis patients.
Pilates Benefits for Scoliosis Patients
Pilates is a low-impact exercise that focuses on the power of intentional movement and breathing.
Pilates focuses on activating deep core muscles for a stronger core, postural improvement, and flexibility.
Pilates can involve mat work or specialized equipment and focuses on abs, hips, glutes, and the lower back.
Current findings suggest pilates can be helpful for scoliosis patients in a number of ways, but acknowledges its limitations and that more definitive research is needed.
As a core-centric activity, pilates exercises can improve posture, muscle strength and endurance, and core stability; let’s talk about how these factors affect scoliosis.
Postural Improvement
I can tell a lot about the health of a patient’s spine by how they move and hold their body; postural health and spinal health shape each other
Pilates focuses on individual movement and core stability, and a strong core is necessary to support healthy posture and movement patterns.
Healthy upright posture supports the spine’s optimal alignment and balance, so any activity that improves posture has the potential to improve spinal health.
Healthy posture also helps evenly distribute body weight, which is essential for spinal and joint health.
Increasing Muscle Strength
Scoliosis doesn’t just affect the spine but also its surrounding muscles; core and back muscles work together to support and stabilize the spine, and a common complication of scoliosis is muscular imbalance.
As the spine’s unnatural curve and twist pull its surrounding muscles in opposite directions; muscles on one side of the spine can become strained and tight due to the strain of counteracting the spine’s unnatural pull, and the muscles on the opposite side can become weak and stretched from lack of use.
Targeted core-strengthening exercise can focus on which muscles need to be loosened and relaxed and which need to be tightened and strengthened.
Core strengthening is at the center of pilates. By strengthening deep stabilizer muscles in the abdomen and back, the spine may be more balanced and stable.
Increasing Flexibility
Pilates includes dynamic stretches, precise movement, and intentional breathing for lengthening muscles and increasing joint mobility.
Its core-strengthening effects increase the spine’s support and stability for increasing flexibility in and around the spine, and flexibility also supports healthy movement patterns. Increasing the spine and body’s overall flexibility can increase treatment responsiveness.
Pilates can help increase flexibility and mobility of the spine, hips, and hamstrings for an improved range of motion and healthy movement patterns.
Increasing the spine’s flexibility through gentle and precise stretches can make it more responsive to treatment, increasing potential treatment efficacy.
Low-Impact Activity
As a low-impact activity, pilates is gentle on the joints and spine. The approach is about the quality of movement, rather than quantity; it’s not about how much you move, but how you move.
A scoliotic spine is weaker and more vulnerable to injury, and for an activity or exercise to be approved for a scoliosis patient, it has to be gentle on the spine and its support structures.
Because pilates is gentle on the joints, it can provide pain relief, improve joint mobility, and is commonly used for therapeutic reasons; its rehabilitative potential makes it ideal for long-term use.
Pain Relief
Scoliosis can cause pain involving the back, the muscles, nerves, and the spine’s supportive structures, and an effect of progression is increasing spinal rigidity.
Muscle pain can be improved as the intentional movements of pilates can strengthen weak muscles, balance unbalanced muscles, and stretch and relax strained muscles.
Improvements to overall flexibility and joint mobility makes movement less painful, and gentle stretches can help relieve back and muscle pain.
Risks of Pilates
For an activity to be deemed appropriate for a scoliosis patient, it needs to be considered safe for the spine and patient and be designed by a specialist.
Seeking professional guidance to make modifications where necessary is important, and exercise recommendations are always customized around the specifics of a patient’s curve.
Ranging widely in severity from mild to very severe, curve progression, location, and size are important factors, and scoliosis patients with severe curves are more likely to have activity restrictions and need pilates modified.
Considerations that can help with making pilates safer for scoliosis include focusing primarily on stability and avoiding movement that involves deep flexion and rotation; this can worsen the spine’s rotational component and cause curve progression.
Repetitive forward flexion can strain the spine, and exercise that overuses one side of the body isn’t recommended because it can exacerbate the asymmetrical effects of scoliosis.
Exercise that strains the spine and/or places it in unnatural positions can contribute to curve progression
Conclusion
So is pilates safe for scoliosis patients? Yes, pilates is generally considered safe for most scoliosis patients, but exercise routines need professional guidance to ensure they are safe for scoliosis and need to be approved by a patient’s treatment provider.
It’s also important to note that pilates is not a treatment option for scoliosis; it offers therapeutic benefits that can improve spinal health for increasing potential treatment responsiveness and a patient’s overall health, but a customized treatment plan combining scoliosis-specific treatment disciplines is needed.
The potential benefits of pilates for scoliosis is more core strength for increased support and stability for the entire spine. A strong core also promotes healthy balance, posture, and movement patterns.
Gentle stretches can elongate the spine, lengthen muscles, and improve joint mobility for pain management, and increasing overall flexibility can help establish a wider range of motion.
Pilates moves for scoliosis patients to avoid may include Roll-ups, the Hundred, Russian twists, and the Swan Dive, and the best moves for scoliosis can include Bridging, Side Planks, Knee Hovers, and the Mermaid stretch.
The best pilates moves for scoliosis are those that focus on increasing core strength and stability for improved spinal alignment and better posture, and are recommended by a scoliosis-specific physical therapist.
For most people with scoliosis, the potential benefits of pilates greatly outweigh the risks, particularly when designed by a scoliosis-specific physical therapist and combined with a proactive treatment plan.
Here at the Scoliosis Reduction Center®, patients benefit from a complete care approach that includes activity recommendations and lifestyle guidance for a better quality of life.
