HOW OLD IS YOUR SPINE?

How Old is Your Spine?

By Kerry De Vivo

"If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old.  If it is completely flexible at 60, you are young." -Joseph H. Pilates

Back pain is very common in the United States.  Two major contributing factors are poor posture and too much sitting.  In a Pilates session, we teach clients how to have good posture and how to support their body in various daily, natural movements. We also help clients discover how to incorporate more movement into their busy days.  

One of my clients has a one hour commute, each way, followed by a 10 hour day, mostly sitting in a chair.  In her sessions we work on ways for her to add more movement and support to her long days.

"As a newer student to Pilates, I have found that setting aside just 15 minutes daily to do the basic 5 [mat exercises] has helped ease my back and chronic neck pain after long days of sitting in front of a computer.  Even when I don't have time for a full workout, doing just the basics prevents my muscles from tightening up and causing more pain.  Thank you for helping me Excel!" -D'Ann

Thank you D'Ann for sharing your story and inspiring all of us to do something good for our spine.  Pilates exercises the spine and our deep supporting muscles. Read my blog article The Secret Weapon to better understand why the core strengthening Pilates produces is instrumental to a healthy spine.  Pilates is a full body workout.  In every session we strengthen the muscles in the upper back to counter act the forward facing daily actions we all do, i.e. driving, typing, cell phone, cooking.  

A study on how Pilates core strengthening impacts overall health published in Stone Hearth News concluded that an 8-week Pilates program improved health related quality of life and reduced functional disability more than either a trunk strengthening exercise program or controls among women with chronic low back pain. Read more here.

This study reveals measurable improvement in 8 weeks bringing validity to Joe Pilates' famous quote "In ten sessions you will feel the difference, in twenty sessions you will see the difference, in thirty sessions you will have a new body." -Joseph H. Pilates.

So keep up the home mat practice and if you know someone who suffers from chronic pack pain, share this issue with them.

This video is of Excel Pilates Annapolis apprentice, Caraline, demonstrating back bend on Joe Pilates' apparatus called the spine corrector.