View Post | FusionPilatesEDU.com

Forum / Let's Discuss! / Older%20Overweight%20mobile%20client%20with%202%20Knee%20Replacements

This topic contains 2 replies.

By	Message
Insa W On: July 02, 2015 16:20 PM	I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying the comprehensive program and the videos are full of golden nuggets. This is the first time Pilates has made sense to my body and my efforts to help others find those connections in their bodies. After a few weeks of teaching gyro according to the way the manual presents it I have started to break down the pieces a lot more and use many of the principles from your videos. The beginning of arch and curl is best learned sitting on the overall. I had a woman today who has been taking Pilates Mat classes and put her on the tower…she aced the beginning movements with the handles but could not find any anchoring in her thoracic spine or pelvis when it came to the hamstring series as much as she had been taught top pull in her TA..she did not have any idea where her pelvis was or how to anchor through T8…I had her do cow arms and voila she had her Tspine anchored. The two systems dovetail so nicely together…I can’t imagine one without the other. I know once ligaments are overstretched they don’t regain their elasticity I see people who can achieve amazing narrowing and lengthening in their spines but when sitting around are collapsed heaps. So I am trying to find a middle ground in my teaching and practice. But the best part about the way I am learning and practicing ( thanks to you) is the focus on weight of the body, moment to moment awareness of releasing uneccessary tension and the importance of getting the glide of the diaphragm. I worked with a woman this afternoon who is 72, overweight, very mobile who has two knees that have been replaced. She has a disc herniation and is in pretty severe pain. She is on a lot of medication and is going to a physic pilates class. I started her on the smart spine and she was very comfortable. progressed to some gentle sacral rocking which was hard for her as she did it from a gross motor level and I was able to get her into a smaller movement. I then had her release her glutes on the small ball and her ability to move her pelvis around her femur heads improved dramatically. I then put her on the over ball and had her do a small arch and curl in the pelvis then side to side and she really noticed how movement to one side ( the side of the herniation was difficult) She got up and walked and felt very steady. I then tried to get her to roll her QL out on the wall and things went downhill from there… seemed to really irritate the nerve so I had her lay down and put her into constructive rest until she was comfortable. Then we did a little sacral rocking and her body had slammed on the breaks to movement. Ah the intelligence of the nervous system. Before she left I got her to roll her feet out and she said that made her feel a lot better. A few years ago she came to me with terrible plantar fasciitis and I had her roll her feet out and she went to India and travelled around out of pain. So I encouraged her to go back to rolling her feet and seeing how her feet communicating with the rest of her might improve her situation. If you have any suggestions of what I can do with her I would appreciate them. Thanks Heather
Casey H On: July 02, 2015 16:21 PM	Hi Heather, Since your client responded so well to the SmartSpine I would do more on that and heated. The sacral pumping ( put a heated Arch Tubbie on each glute cheek and have them inhale and picture the sacrum counter nutating and exhale the sacrum nutating). The breath is the only thing that moves the sacrum. You could also do the Prone breathing Wave with the warm SmartSpine. Your hand on top of the SmartSpine should guide the sacrum on the inhales and exhales. You can also do the pelvic clock on the SmartSpine Feldenkris style. Explore not only 12 to 6 and 3 to 9 but also the diagonals of 11 and 5 and 2 and 7. I think the half deflated overball under the pelvis and cueing flexion, extension and rotation is brilliant for this client because of the herniated disc. Have her work small ( watch the feet and the legs) This will milk and give nutrition to her discs. And , yes, the feet are always the best place to consistently go to especially when back pain is looming near. Rolling the feet and more specific foot openings would be great. I hope this helps! Jen

Message

Insa W
On: July 02, 2015 16:20 PM

I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying the comprehensive program and the videos are full of golden nuggets. This is the first time Pilates has made sense to my body and my efforts to help others find those connections in their bodies. After a few weeks of teaching gyro according to the way the manual presents it I have started to break down the pieces a lot more and use many of the principles from your videos. The beginning of arch and curl is best learned sitting on the overall. I had a woman today who has been taking Pilates Mat classes and put her on the tower…she aced the beginning movements with the handles but could not find any anchoring in her thoracic spine or pelvis when it came to the hamstring series as much as she had been taught top pull in her TA..she did not have any idea where her pelvis was or how to anchor through T8…I had her do cow arms and voila she had her Tspine anchored. The two systems dovetail so nicely together…I can’t imagine one without the other. I know once ligaments are overstretched they don’t regain their elasticity I see people who can achieve amazing narrowing and lengthening in their spines but when sitting around are collapsed heaps. So I am trying to find a middle ground in my teaching and practice. But the best part about the way I am learning and practicing ( thanks to you) is the focus on weight of the body, moment to moment awareness of releasing uneccessary tension and the importance of getting the glide of the diaphragm. I worked with a woman this afternoon who is 72, overweight, very mobile who has two knees that have been replaced. She has a disc herniation and is in pretty severe pain. She is on a lot of medication and is going to a physic pilates class. I started her on the smart spine and she was very comfortable. progressed to some gentle sacral rocking which was hard for her as she did it from a gross motor level and I was able to get her into a smaller movement. I then had her release her glutes on the small ball and her ability to move her pelvis around her femur heads improved dramatically. I then put her on the over ball and had her do a small arch and curl in the pelvis then side to side and she really noticed how movement to one side ( the side of the herniation was difficult) She got up and walked and felt very steady. I then tried to get her to roll her QL out on the wall and things went downhill from there… seemed to really irritate the nerve so I had her lay down and put her into constructive rest until she was comfortable. Then we did a little sacral rocking and her body had slammed on the breaks to movement. Ah the intelligence of the nervous system. Before she left I got her to roll her feet out and she said that made her feel a lot better. A few years ago she came to me with terrible plantar fasciitis and I had her roll her feet out and she went to India and travelled around out of pain. So I encouraged her to go back to rolling her feet and seeing how her feet communicating with the rest of her might improve her situation. If you have any suggestions of what I can do with her I would appreciate them. Thanks Heather

Casey H
On: July 02, 2015 16:21 PM

Hi Heather, Since your client responded so well to the SmartSpine I would do more on that and heated. The sacral pumping ( put a heated Arch Tubbie on each glute cheek and have them inhale and picture the sacrum counter nutating and exhale the sacrum nutating). The breath is the only thing that moves the sacrum. You could also do the Prone breathing Wave with the warm SmartSpine. Your hand on top of the SmartSpine should guide the sacrum on the inhales and exhales. You can also do the pelvic clock on the SmartSpine Feldenkris style. Explore not only 12 to 6 and 3 to 9 but also the diagonals of 11 and 5 and 2 and 7. I think the half deflated overball under the pelvis and cueing flexion, extension and rotation is brilliant for this client because of the herniated disc. Have her work small ( watch the feet and the legs) This will milk and give nutrition to her discs. And , yes, the feet are always the best place to consistently go to especially when back pain is looming near. Rolling the feet and more specific foot openings would be great. I hope this helps! Jen

(You must log in post here.)