Spine Surgery » Lumbar Spine Surgery
Pilates and Your Spine
When Pennsylvania resident, author, and educator Deborah Spungen, MSS, MLSP, CTS arrived at my Pilates studio she was experiencing debilitating, almost excruciating back pain which interfered with her work. Founder of the Anti-Violence Project of Philadelphia, Spungen trains and lectures to social workers, police officers, and families of murder victims. Since she worked regularly with a personal trainer on weight training and cardio equipment, she wasn't quite sure why this was happening.
Spungen was diagnosed with a severe Lumbar Scoliosis and Stenosis with herniations at every Lumbar disk. While her condition was in no way caused by her exercising, the training she was doing was not helping. She was actually over-strengthening and tightening her postural muscles --they were too tight to support her spine! Most of us think that tighter muscle is stronger, and that is not true! Especially postural muscles, which need to be able to lengthen and shorten appropriate to whatever activity we are engaged in (put simply, when you bend over your abdominal muscles shorten and your back muscles lengthen). Overly tight muscles will not lengthen just as overstretched muscles have a hard time shortening.
Three months after surgery, we worked to regain specific postural muscle strength and joint mobility. Today Spungen feels and looks great, crediting Pilates for her continued vitality. "My surgery was successful, but without Lynda's assistance and Pilates, I know that I would not have recuperated so quickly, nor would I have attained the high level of functioning that I enjoy today."
Lynda Lippin, "The Pilates & Reiki Lady" of the Turks & Caicos islands. Visit http://www.balancenter.net for more information, links, and Lynda's Amazon.com Store.
Read Lynda's blogs: http://pilatesinparadise.blogspot.com for chronicles of expat life in the Caribbean http://pilatesandreiki.blogspot.com for more on Pilates & Reiki
Source: www.articledashboard.com