Sports medicine evaluation of Pilates
As already mentioned, Pilates has a health-promoting effect. Pilates is particularly suitable for treating or preventing diseases such as scoliosis, bad posture, slipped discs or incontinence. Pilates is also suitable to treat acute or chronic pain in the spine area.
Numerous clinics and physiotherapeutic practices offer Pilates courses in order to provide patients with an accompanying therapy to conventional medicine. This training method is also suitable for the rehabilitation of surviving illnesses and is recommended by practicing physicians. This confirms the quality and added value of Pilates in sports medicine.
With appropriate and correct training, possible risks can also be excluded. The training must be taught professionally, YouTube videos are not suitable for this! Pay attention to a qualitative training of the instructor!
Prefer courses with few participants! This is more expensive, but your health is not the right place to save money. Do not force or rush anything. Exercises that have been done in poor form usually have an opposite effect.
What are the alternatives to Pilates?
Of course, as with any sport, there are alternative training methods to Pilates. One alternative to Pilates is “BODYBALANCE®”. This training concept brings together techniques from yoga, Thai-Chi and Pilates and is therefore also supposed to contain a meditative component.
The concept consists of a sequence of stretching and holding exercises with flowing music. As in Pilates, controlled breathing is an essential part of the fitness concept. If we travel to the Far East, we encounter Qi-Gong.
Qi-Gong is especially characterized by its health-promoting effect. The exercises should activate the body’s self-healing powers, which is why they are also part of traditional Chinese medicine. There the exercises have both preventive and acute healing effects.
Furthermore, Qi-Gong is used in martial arts and meditation. The gentlest alternative to Pilates is the so-called Feldenkrais method. This method is aimed at people who want to alleviate their pain due to orthopedic diseases. The Feldenkrais Method is about performing postures, identifying awkward positions and then correcting them so that they do not cause problems in everyday life.
