Clinical Pilates

Clinical Pilates – Rehabilitation with a difference

The team at Watsonia Physiotherapy offers Clinical Pilates (CP) to clients in and around Watsonia, just north-east of Melbourne’s CBD in Victoria. CP is an exercise-based treatment that uses spring loaded resistance to achieve the following goals:

  • Strengthening and toning the entire body
  • Aiding in the recovery and rehabilitation after an injury
  • Promoting overall physical well-being
  • Building core muscles
  • Improving balance

CP involves moving in a smooth and controlled fashion (with or against resistance) using purpose-built equipment – the Trapeze Table and the Reformer. These exercises engage the whole body and are designed to target specific regions of your body. It’s suitable for all age groups and levels of ability, as exercises can be adapted to suit individual needs.

Clinical Pilates vs Pilates

CP differs from other forms of Pilates in the following ways:

  • You receive an individual assessment by a Clinical Pilates certified physiotherapist to identify your health needs and goals.
  • Based on the findings of this assessment, a program is designed to meet your specific health needs.
  • The degree of difficulty designed into your exercise program increases over time at a rate that allows you to continue to develop and improve your functional ability.
  • All CP sessions are supervised by a Clinical Pilates certified physiotherapist.

Benefits of Clinical Pilates

There are many benefits to CP, as follows:

  • Correction of poor body mechanics that leads to injury
  • Improving core stability and control
  • Enhancing posture and body awareness
  • Reducing pain and discomfort
  • Treating and preventing spinal injury
  • Rehabilitation of injuries
  • Improving balance and co-ordination
  • Overall fitness and well-being
  • Post-natal recovery and fitness
  • Strength training

Clinical Pilates Program – Overview

The Watsonia CP program has 3 phases:

PHASE 1 – Assessment

Your initial assessment with one of our Clinical Pilates certified physiotherapists is designed to identify your strengths, weaknesses, movement patterns and overall health goals. This process also involves finding out more about your injury or reason for wanting to undertake CP, as well as a physical examination. Our findings help us to tailor a program that’s specific to your needs and goals.

PHASE 2 – Instruction

You receive at least 3 one-on-one Clinical Pilates sessions with your personal Clinical Pilates certified physiotherapist. The aims of these sessions are as follows:

  • The physiotherapist can demonstrate your exercises.
  • You can familiarise yourself with the Pilates equipment and how to set it up.
  • You learn the correct techniques to safely perform your exercises.
  • We evaluate your program (and adjust it if needed), ensuring that it meets your needs and achieves your health goals.

PHASE 3 – Rehabilitation

Phase 3 is composed of group classes for 4 to 6 participants, and supervised by one of our Clinical Pilates certified physiotherapists.

The group is a fun and supportive environment and usually consists of a mix of gender and ages, as well as health problems and goals. Close supervision ensures that you perform your exercises correctly and any problems can be promptly addressed. After approximately 10 sessions we perform another assessment to ensure that you are progressing well and working towards your health goals. At this stage your program is updated if necessary.

Research has shown that for effective results, participants must attend 1 to 2 sessions per week. Your physiotherapist will also provide you with a home exercise program to compliment your machine based Clinical Pilates.

If you are interested in Clinical Pilates, call us on 03 9434 3088, send us an or book online to arrange an assessment.