Pilates for Back Pain: What the research says
Back pain is incredibly common. Roughly 80% of adults will experience back pain at some point in their lives, and it’s estimated that back pain accounts for up to 25% of doctor’s visits in Ireland.
The discomfort of back pain can impact many areas of your life, including sleep, energy, ability to focus, ability to do your job, and how much you can engage with and enjoy your hobbies and time with family and friends.
Health care and allied professionals frequently recommend Pilates for people with a history, or current experience, of back pain. Let’s look at what Pilates is, how it helps, and what the research shows.What is Connected Birth?
Understanding back pain
The biopsychosocial model of pain is more widely accepted than ever. This model explains that pain is not just physical (e.g. you feel pain because you strained a muscle), but a multi-factor experience resulting from the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. It helps shift our thinking from pain equals damage, to acknowledging that environment, beliefs and emotions are influencing factors when we experience pain.
Our environment and lifestyle can contribute to back pain, such as a lack of regular movement and increased stress and tension that might lead to muscle imbalances, to the set up of our work environment, where and how we sleep etc.
Types of back pain you might have experienced include:
Lower back tightness and discomfort
Stiffness after sitting for a period of time
Recurring flare-ups
What is Pilates?
Many of you reading this will be very familiar with Pilates and have taken Mat or Reformer Pilates classes at one of our studios.
If not and you’ve heard the current buzz around Pilates, and are wondering what it is, let us briefly explain.
Pilates is a low-impact movement method focussed on strength, control and alignment. The key principles of the practice are:
Core stability
Controlled, precise movement
Breath coordination
It is an excellent, all-round movement practice because of the focus on activating and strengthening your deep stabilising muscles and encouraging balanced muscle development. It’s a functional practice that supports everyday movement
How Pilates supports back health?
We’ve moved a long way from thinking that bed rest was the ‘cure’ for back pain. We now know that movement is key to recovery and reducing the chance of future flare-ups. But how does Pilates help?
Our body doesn’t work in individual parts. Everything is connected and working together to provide and support and function we need in daily life. Just because we have a ‘bad back’, doesn’t mean we need to focus simply on strengthening our back muscles.
Improves Core Support
In fact, back pain can often be attributed to weakness or dysfunction in the hip flexors, deep abdominal muscles, or the pelvic floor. By thinking globally about the structure and strength of our body, and focusing on this, we can reduce the strain on the spine and connected muscles.
Encourages a More Helpful Posture
As the saying goes, “the best posture is your next posture”. Your posture isn’t inherently good or bad, but neither do you want to be in the same posture all day, every day.
Pilates helps you build a better awareness of your posture and alignment. With time and practice, you’ll find it easier to sense how you hold your body, when you need to move positions (i.e. change your posture), and become aware of which positions and supports are helpful, or less helpful, for your body. As this awareness and understanding of your body grows, you might feel more motivated to address and counteract any unhelpful desk-based habits that come with your job, or other habits that you’ve developed over time.
Improves Movement Patterns
Pilates teaches you how to move your body in a more controlled and efficient way. It helps you notice and address movement compensation patterns that can lead to back pain over time.
Supports Nervous System Regulation
Your breath is your direct connection to your nervous system, and one of the best ways to influence it. The slow, controlled movements in Pilates are synched with breath awareness and control. This is a great way to invite your body to move into a parasympathetic response (i.e. rest and digest) which is essential for stress reduction and emotional regulation.
What the research says about Pilates for back pain
There are many sources of evidence to support the claim that Pilates can help reduce the intensity and frequency of back pain, as well as being an important part of preventative care.
Key Findings
Pilates can reduce pain and improve function in people with chronic back pain
Pilates may be as effective, or more effective than general exercise in some cases
Pilates supports long-term management, and prevention, of back pain when practiced correctly and consistently
Non-specific lower back pain is one of the most common types of back pain globally. The benefits of exercise-based interventions are well documented, and in recent years Pilates has been one of the most popular exercise programmes used in clinical practice. This paper from the National Library of Medicine indicates that an 8-week Pilates intervention was more effective than a home exercise programme for reducing pain intensity and reducing the risk of back pain progressing from the subacute phase to chronic.
The HSE recommends staying as active as possible to reduce back pain and speed up recovery, and highlight Pilates as a helpful movement practice, alongside other low-impact activities, such as walking, swimming, and yoga.
Following the biopsychosocial model of pain, it helps to stay positive and understand that your back pain should get better with time and attention. If you’re actively participating in an activity that you enjoy, or a group class that brings social connection, you’re more likely to recover quicker.
Who Pilates can help
People with mild to moderate subacute or chronic back pain
Desk-based workers
People returning to movement after a flare-up of back pain
At Breathing Space, our Mat Pilates classes are limited to a maximum of 14 people for individualised attention. Our classes are mixed level, with plenty of options to cater for different needs. If you let the instructor know about any injuries or limitations (including back pain) at the beginning of class, they can ensure appropriate options are offered during the class.
When to be cautious
Listening to your own body is key. Pushing through pain, or over exerting yourself, is not the solution for your back pain.
If you are unsure if Pilates is suitable for you and the back pain you are experiencing, you may wish to seek advice from a qualified health practitioner, such as a physiotherapist.
If you are in an acute phase of back pain, a group Pilates class might not be the most suitable option, and you may need more individualised attention and instruction from a 1:1 session or a physiotherapist.
What to expect in a Pilates class for back care
A small-group Pilates class provides a supportive and non-competitive environment where you can focus on your own body and movements. The focus is on quality of movement over intensity.
A typical Mat Pilates class will take you through a gentle warm-up, followed by movements and exercises that include core activation work, controlled strengthening, mobility and stretching. Guidance on breathing will be offered throughout the class.
Tips for getting started
If you’re new to Pilates, recovering from injury or recent back pain, we recommend starting with our Physio-led Mat Pilates class at 5.45pm on Thursdays at our Cork Street studio.
Regardless of which class you join, we encourage you to:
Let the instructor know about your back pain
Focus on consistency rather than intensity
Notice small improvements over time
Conclusion
Pilates isn’t going to be a quick fix for your back pain but it can be a key component of your toolkit to manage or prevent back pain, and one that is research-backed. Your progress might be slow and gradual, but it will be meaningful and long-lasting. Pilates is a movement practice that can support you at all stages or life and levels of health.
If you’re experiencing back pain, or looking to prevent it, we invite you to join one of our Mat Pilates classes at our Cork Street studio in Dublin 8 and let us support you to build a consistent and supportive practice.
