Injuries/Injury Prevention Articles

While the majority of exercisers are healthy individuals with a positive view of themselves, a few people use fitness as a means of perpetuating compulsive, obsessive exercise patterns. In fact, according to the American Council on Exercise, about 1%–3% of the population experience some degree of exercise addiction (Matthews 2009). Overtraining--or overexercising--is common at nearly all health clubs. newsletter_teaser: While the majority of exercisers are healthy individuals with a positive view of themselves, a few people use fitness as a means of perpetuating compulsive, obsessive exercise patterns.

Many clients come to you with low-back pain, a condition that affects 80% of Americans. In contrast, chronic low-back pain—defined as persistent pain and disability lasting longer than 3 months—affects approximately 2%-8% of Americans. newsletter_teaser: Many clients come to you with low-back pain, a condition that affects 80% of Americans. In contrast, chronic low-back pain—defined as persistent pain and disability lasting longer than 3 months—affects approximately 2%-8% of Americans.

As I prepared to transition out of my dance career, I opened my own Pilates studio. Ballet students were drawn to the opportunity to use Pilates to make their own dance dreams a reality. This case study explores how Pilates transformed one young dancer.Node Features: Has Videonewsletter_teaser: As I prepared to transition out of my dance career, I opened my own Pilates studio. Ballet students were drawn to the opportunity to use Pilates to make their own dance dreams a reality. This case study explores how Pilates transformed one young dancer.

Pilates practice may help people with ankylosing spondylitis to improve functional capacity, reports a study published in Rheumatology International (2012; 32 (7), 2093–99; doi: 10.1007/s00296-011-1932-9). AS is a chronic, inflammatory disorder characterized by pain and stiffness of the back and the sacroiliac joints, but it can also affect peripheral joints like the shoulder, hip, knee and ankle. Over time, breathing becomes increasingly difficult, and affected joints eventually lose all mobility.

The Alexander Technique may be effective for chronic back pain and Parkinson’s-associated disability, according to a review in The International Journal of Clinical Practice (2012; 66 [1], 98–112; doi: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2011.02817.x.

Excessive thoracic kyphosis is a disproportionate forward rounding or curvature of the middle and upper back, also known as the thoracic spine (Kendall, McCreary & Provance 2005). ETK is an extremely common musculoskeletal imbalance brought on by prolonged time in some postural positions; exercise and/or activity choices; environmental factors; myofascial dysfunction; intolerances to food and/or other allergic reactions; and psychological stress.

This is a great question and one I get all the time. Different parts of the body respond to different degrees of pressure and firmness. Similarly, individuals respond in different ways to the firmness of the self-myofascial-release (SMR) tool they use. No matter whom you are working with, though, it is always a good idea to start them out with a soft ball (e.g., a tennis ball) so they can relax and ease into the new sensations of performing self-massage.

It’s no wonder the psoas are so misunderstood. The very process of naming these muscles connecting the top half of the body to the lower half has been a series of errors spanning four centuries.