The health of your brain, body, and mood is dependent on the health of your spine! Neurology and structure are the bookends of fitness, allowing for optimal endurance, strength, and flexibility [1].
Alignment and Overall Health
Certified PMA Pilates Instructor and owner, Deb Mandeville-Bowen of Bend Pilates in Bend, Oregon, says, “Pilates increases flexibility, strength, balance, lung capacity, endurance, bone density, and energy while developing body awareness.” A research study on Pilates also found that a 60 minute Pilates exercise program improved mood in sedentary women and improved their psychological health after only ten weeks of exercise [2].
Core Strength and Alignment
Lifestyle chiropractic care and Pilates enhance the benefits of each. Chiropractic adjustments optimize your neurology and help balance your structure. Regular and consistent lifestyle chiropractic care will accelerate your overall body results from your Pilates routine.
Strengthening and lengthening your core muscles with a regular Pilates routine provides postural support and reduces stress on the spine and weight bearing joints. With a strong and balanced support to your frame, your entire body moves better and maintains alignment longer. Pilates exercises work deeply in the body and mind through concentration, breathing, and controlled movement. This allows energetic alignment between the mind, body, and breathing patterns.
Conditioning and Core Strength
Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s and focuses on the development of core musculature, including the abdominal muscles, the low back, inner and outer thigh, and gluteal muscles [3]. A personalized Pilates workout engages smooth, integrated movement patterns and increases strength and flexibility.
A research study was performed on active middle-aged men and women engaged for just a few weeks in a Pilates exercise. The results were increased abdominal endurance, hamstring flexibility, and upper-body muscular endurance [4]. Muscle strength is imperative to the natural aging process through improvements in everyday body movement, gait, balance, and posture [5].
Chiropractic adjustments align the spine, improve range of motion, posture, and work deep in your neurology to allow proper communication between the brain and the entire body. Roger Sperry, a Nobel prize winner on brain research, found that 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by movement of the spine. Misalignments and restricted motion in the spine, called vertebral subluxations, cause interference in the nervous system and increase stress hormones in your body, leading to a variety of dysfunctions, including decreased immunity, digestion problems, infertility, lack of focus, and low energy [6].
Chiropractic adjustments restore your body to its natural rhythm in so it is better able to adapt to stress and maintain health. Research has revealed that chiropractic adjustments increase plasticity, or re-wiring, in the brain which allows your brain to adapt to the experiences of life at any age. Get your structure checked today to optimize your fitness routine and overall health!
References:
1. Plasker E. The 100 Year Lifestyle. 1st ed. Avon, Mass.: Adams Media; 2007.
2. Tolnai N, Szabo Z, Koteles F, Szabo A. Physical and psychological benefits of once-a-week Pilates exercises in young sedentary women: A 10-week longitudinal study. Physiology & behavior. 2016 Sep 1; 163:211-8
3. Pilates J, Van Heuit-Robbins L, Robbins J. Pilates Evolution: The 21st Century. Ashland, Or.: Presentation Dynamics Llc; 2012.
4. Kloubec JA. Pilates for improvement of muscle endurance, flexibility, balance, and posture. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 2010 Mar 1;24(3):661-7.
5. Gleberzon BJ, Annis RS. The necessity of strength training for the older patient. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. 2000 Jun;44(2):98.
6. Korr IM. The spinal cord as organizer of disease processes. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 1976 Sep;76(1):35-45.
Contributed by Dr. Sarah Powers
