Lower Extremity Workshops with Melanie Byford-Young

Two weeks ago, several of us were lucky enough to take a three day STOTT PILATES® intensive workshop with Melanie Byford-Young on the Hip, Knee, Ankle, Foot and the mechanisms of gait.

For those of us who took all three days of workshops it was an intense, but exhilarating experience! A lot of information was received, but we were also given plenty of time to experiment with each other and make actual change happen! From a personal perspective, I was able to change my wobbly gait pattern (due to a rigid right midfoot issue) and start getting my center of gravity over that foot in a much better way.  I still have a lot of homework to do, but the changes to my whole alignment from ankle to spine have been truly amazing!

It has also been very interesting to me to see how many clients have come in over the last two weeks with ankle, knee or hip issues! How exciting to have some really cool exercises to try on them and to see some of the same changes happen to them as I and many others experienced  over the weekend! Not all of these changes happen in one session, but I feel very empowered having more tools to address these issues with clients.

I am looking forward to hearing how others in the workshops have been using the information they received. What kinds of success stories can you share with us? Questions? Bring em on!

Ankle Plantar Flexion Challenges!

This question was sent to us from Tresa Sauer, and we though others might be interested too!

I have two (2) clients who have difficulty with ankle plantar flexion.  Geez – usually it’s the other way around and I gotta bark about their quads and knees, but with both of these cases, the insufficiency is nearly debilitating.  One woman’s plantar flexion is so poor that during tower class, I show her to the Stability Chair for Ankle Exercise so she doesn’t come crashing down during Push Through with Feet on the push-thru bar (yeah, I know she can keep her knees slightly bent, but I have 4 other people to worry about). When she does Ankle Exercise, I can see that she’s sliding her knee up and down on the edge of the chair to make the movement, but also – her calves seem TIGHT. Tight and weak. Hmm… My other client, during Lift and Lower footwork, actually levitates her pelvis off the reformer!  We scream with laughter and I suppose her gastroc and soleus are weaker than weak, but why the pelvic levitation?  Dynamically, what’s going on?!? Both of them do a lot of BIKING!

Response from Melanie:

Hi Tresa!!!
How are you doing, wonderful? And how is your son managing with his brace and exercise? I still listen to your DVD regularly and love it! I  thought I had replied to you already about the dreaded lack of plantar flexion, but as I cannot find it, here goes!

Crazy that these two clients lack PF to such an extreme. I love the levitation visual! There is hope! I suspect a couple of things: First I expect that they grip with their toes constantly; Secondly, I suspect that they have significant rigidity of the midfoot joints in association with their cycling; finally I suspect that their postures are such that the pelvis is not centered over their feet habitually, and that they are likely slightly flexed at the hips with tight/ dominant hip flexors.
Here are a couple of suggestions:
1. Have they come to class  a little early and mobilize/ roll  their feet on a half tennis ball or full tennis ball. Have them step on the ball at various points of their feet, roll their feet up and down on the ball, and rock their feet side to side  and in circles.
2. Try footwork initially with the midfoot on the bar; this will help to open up the muscles and joints of the midfoot, and may help some of the tension they have to plantar flex against. Then progress so that you help her up into plantar flexion (you do the concentric work and reduce the load she is pushing), then have the client lower the heels down eccentrically. Repeat that several times and then see how much plantar flexion she can achieve.
3. Try footwork with the jump board and toning balls. Place the toning balls under their heels and have their metatarsal heads on the board. In this way they are being supported in plantar flexion. Cue them to relax their feet and push the carriage out with their legs.
4. Try Lower and Lift with the knees bent. This may help stop the levitation, and target the deeper plantar flexors including the tibialis posterior and soleus. So this both supine and in side lying (sleeper)
5. Try side lying (sleeper on the reformer, and side lying leg springs on the V2Max/ cadillac). I hope this will help them open up the front of the hip joint, and use the hip abductors and peroneals (which are plantar flexors)
6. Try Elephant in as much plantar flexion as they can tolerate. Focus on the work coming from the abs, hip flexors and hip adductors instead of gripping with the feet.
See how these go and please report back. I will come up with another series of ideas if these do not help to restore some power and range of plantar flexion.
Say hi to everyone at the club!!!
Melanie

Tight and Weak Hip Flexors

 This question was sent and responded to through email, but we thought others might be interested!

Hi
 
My name is Connie Bruce and I am a Stott certified instructor in Rochester, Minnesota.  I took my first ISP course with Melanie at the Sweatshop in St. Paul, MN this past May!  I was awed and inspired by Melanie’s knowledge and ability to teach/talk in “layman’s terms”. 
 
I have a couple questions that you may be able to use on your blog.
 
1.  Recently a gentleman told me he had a fitness test done and he could leg press approximately 500 lbs.  However, he cannot hold his legs in tabletop when doing mat work.  What exactly is going on in his body and what can I do to help him be able to hold his legs in tabletop?
 
2.  What is going on with someone who is unable to sit cross-legged?  Specifically, when they try to sit cross-legged, their body leans back, their knees stay lifted quite high, and they look extremely uncomfortable in that position.  Again, what can I do to help them be able to comfortably sit cross-legged.
 
Just an fyi – I do know the various modifications to help the above people, but what I am wondering is what is the permanent – so to speak – fix?
 
Thank you in advance.  I love checking into your blog page to see new posts.  I have only been teaching since the end of 2007 and I am starving for any and all wisdom/advice I can find on how to help clients get the most out of their pilates training.
 
Connie Bruce

Response from Melanie-Byford Young:

Hi Connie! Great to hear from you, especially with such great questions!

1.  Recently a gentleman told me he had a fitness test done and he could leg press approximately 500 lbs.  However, he cannot hold his legs in tabletop when doing mat work.  What exactly is going on in his body and what can I do to help him be able to hold his legs in tabletop?

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS GOING ON HERE. FIRST, THE LEG PRESS, AT THE GYM, USES THE HIP AND KNEE EXTENSORS, WHERE HOLDING HIS LEGS UP IN SPACE IS USING HIS HIP FLEXORS (PSOAS, ILIACUS, RECTUS FEMORIS, TFL, ADDUCTRS ETC).

SECONDLY, THIS MAN HAS POWER, BUT NOT STABILIZATION AND HENCE CANNOT MAINTAIN HIS SPINAL POSTURE AGAINST THE LOAD OF HIS LEGS. YOU COULD REST HIS LEGS UP ON A STABILITY BALL, OR AGAINST THE WALL, WHILE HE DOES AB WORK OR ARM WORK. OVER TIME, HE WILL DEVELOP THE TONIC CONTROL OF HIS SPINE AND LEGS, AND BALANCE HIS CONTROL AND POWER. PROGRESS HIM WITH SINGLE AND DOUBLE LEG STRETCH, AND SCISSORS. HE MAY HAVE AN EASIER TIME WITH THESE EXERCISES INITIALLY WITH HIS PELVIS UP IN AN ARC BARREL SO THAT GRAVITY HELPS HIM INSTEAD OF CHALLENGING HIM.

2. What is going on with someone who is unable to sit cross-legged?  Specifically, when they try to sit cross-legged, their body leans back, their knees stay lifted quite high, and they look extremely uncomfortable in that position.  Again, what can I do to help them be able to comfortably sit cross-legged.
 

THE INABILITY TO SIT CROSS- LEGGED CAN BE CAUSED BY SEVERAL ISSUES, INCLUDING: RESTRICTIONS WITHIN THE PELVIS, TIGHTNESS OF THE HIP ROTATORS, TIGHT ANTERIOR HIP CAPSULE/ DEEP ANTERIOR HIPS, OR ISSUES ALONG THE LATERAL MYOFASCIAL CHAIN.

 WHAT CAN YOU DO? START BY SITTING HIM UP ON CUSHIONS OR A CHAIR FOR ALL SEATED WORK IN ORDER FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO ATTAIN AND DEVELOP HIS NEUTRAL SACRAL, PELVIC AND LUMBAR POSITION. DO SWAN DIVE PREP AND SINGLE LEG EXTENSIONS IN ORDER TO HELP DEVELOP HIS LUMBAR EXTENSORS AND MOBILITY THROUGH HIS HIP/ SIJ/ LUMBAR SPINE. FOR HIS HIPS, DO EXERCISES TO HELP INCREASE MOBILITY AND STABILITY, INCLUDING BENT KNEE FALL OUT, ONE LEG CIRCLE, BEND AND  STRETCH, SIDE LEG LIFT SERIES, AND FOOTWORK ON THE REFORMER IN LATERAL ROTATION. FOR HIS PELVIS, MAKE SURE THAT HE IS ABLE TO ‘OPEN THE FRONT OF HIS PELVIS’ WHEN TRYING TO ATTAIN THE CROSS LEGGED POSITION; IF SOMEONE OVER-RECRUITS THEIR ABS AND PULLS THEIR ASIS TOGETHER EXCESSIVELY, THEN HE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EXTERNALLY ROTATE THE HIP AND ATTAIN CROSS-LEGGED SITTING.
TO SUMMARIZE, ENSURE PROPER STABILIZATION AND MOBILITY OF THE PELVIS, WORK ON MOBILITY OF THE HIP IN THE SOCKET, AND WHEN IN SITTING, SIT HIM UP ON A RISER HIGH ENOUGH TO ALLOW NEUTRAL SACRUM AND PELVIS AND A FREEDOM OF MOTION.

Thanks for letting us use your questions on the blog to help others!

Melanie

Pilates and Posture: What is ideal?

Yesterday, one of my new students asked me if I thought Pilates could help their posture, and I told her that over the last ten years, I have seen countless numbers of students radically improve their posture through pilates. So, she asked me to analyze her posture and suggest exercises that would be most beneficial for her to do. Of course, I did this for her, and she was able to leave the lesson with five or six things that she could focus on while working in group classes and on her own.

Later, I realized that this would be a great topic to focus on for our blog. So, here is my first entry about Pilates and Posture. Today, I will talk about what is commonly considered “Ideal Posture.” An ideal posture (or standard posture) is something that we strive for.

In general, ”good posture” is one that promotes overall balance for all the joints and organs and minimizes stress and strain throughout the body. Good posture allows joints to glide and move as they were meant to, minimizing unwanted grinding or sheering. Good posture also is “conducive to good alignment of the abdomen and trunk, so that the chest and upper back are in a position that favors optimal function of the respiratory organs” (Florence Peterson Kendall, PT)

As seen in the profile picture below, the spine has its’ normal curves, the pelvis is level (the two hip bones in the front (ASIS) are on the same plane as the pubic bone), the hip joint is centered in the socket and the thigh bones are stacked directly over the bones of the lower leg (tibia and fibula) and the head sits balanced on the spine so that there is a slight (lordodic) curve in the neck and the chin sits in line with the sternum.

 

The back view of an ideal posture, seen to the right, shows the head balanced (neither tilted or rotated), a straight neck, level shoulders and shoulder blades, a straight spine (right and left sides of the trunk are symmetrical), level pelvis and neutral hip joint and knees. The toes are pointing slightly outward.

 Since there is a direct coorelation between the static alignment of the bones and the balance of the muscles which attach to them, pilates exercise can be used as means to change posture. In order to do this effectively, one’s posture should first be analyzed for deviations that appear different from the standard posture. Then, a qualified instructor should be able to select exercises that help to lengthen or strengthen muscles that contribute to the postural deviation. In addition, the instructor needs to be able to successfully guide the student through the exercises, using props or modifications as needed, in order to ensure that the student is effectively changing their habitual movement pattern and using the correct muscle groups throughout.

Stay tuned for more entries about posture and learn about the three classic postural types and which pilates exercises may be most beneficial to focus on in each case.

 

 

Happy hamstrings: What is the best way to stretch?

Having good hamstring length is important for all athletic endeavors and to comfortably do regular every day activities; to bend over to tie your shoes you will need elongated hamstrings. Without lengthened hamstrings, undue stress and strain may occur in the back, hips and knees.

Commonly, people know static stretches to build passive hamstring length. An example of static hamstring stretching would include lying your back while your instructor holds your leg in the air.

 

This photo illustrates a static stretch for the hamstrings using a wall to support the leg rather than a person

 

Static stretching will encourage the muscles to relax in order to create elongation, however, because the stretch is done passively, it may create an imbalance with the opposing muscle groups, make the muscle less sensitive to neural messages sent to the it by the brain, which diminishes its’ ability to generate force, and reduce blood flow in the stretched muscle. Therefore, static stretching is not considered a wise way to stretch prior to strenuous activity; a static stretch should only be held for 6-30 seconds, and should be done only preceding a gentle activity.

 

A dynamic hamstring stretch, conversely, involves actively taking the muscle in and out of a stretch. Since good flexibility is specific to body position and speed, a dynamic hamstring stretch will lengthen the muscle, but also prepare it for quick, ballistic and/or explosive activity. Consider when a soccer player kicks a ball or a martial artist kicks an opponent, he or she requires long muscles that can respond quickly in a variety of positions. In addition, since dynamic stretching increases blood flow to the muscles, it is an ideal way of stretching to prepare the muscles to be able to lengthen during a variety of situations- from playing sports and to doing other daily activities as gardening or picking up heavy objects. Training your hamstrings to stretch dynamically can greatly diminish the risk of tears and other injuries.

There are numerous exercises on the pilates reformer that can be used to dynamically lengthen the hamstrings. Here are three great exercises that can help you create long, strong and responsive hamstrings.

Feet in straps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back is stable against the carriage using the abdominal muscles, and all the muscles of the legs are active (gluts, hamstrings and quadriceps) to maintain the extension of the knees and to create resistance against the straps. When the legs are brought towards the body, the hamstrings are elongated, but the opposing muscle groups are active and the spine and pelvis are stable. This exercise begins slowly and can progress to a faster pace (still with control), 8-10 times.

Elephant:

During elephant, the gluts and hamstrings actively work to press the carriage out, simultaneously, the spine is supported in a neutral position. Then, the carriage is pulled in by using the hip flexor muscles. Notice that the upper body remains completely stable while the movement occurs at the hip joint, as if it were a hinge. This exercise begins slowly and may progress to a quicker pace (still with control), 8-10 times.

Front Splits standing on the floor:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this exercise, the front leg is straightening to push the carriage out and bending to pull the carriage back in. The quadriceps are working to straighten the knee creating a hamstring stretch, then the hamstrings are working to pull the carriage back in. This exercise begins slowly and can progress to a quicker pace (still with control), 5-8 times.

All of these pilates exercises should be executed under the guidance of a certified pilates instructor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross-training for female teen athletes

This question was sent and responded to through email, but we thought others might be interested!

Hi! I teach STOTT PILATES at two great studios in the Chicago suburbs…The Pilates Body and Oak Brook Racquet and Fitness Club.

My question is about female teen athletes. I would like to develop a cross-training workout for this population: One that enhances their play and also protects them from injury (including, but not limited to injuries of the ACL and knee area).

What are your suggestions?

Many thanks!

Salle Huber

Answer from Leslie Braverman:

Hi Salle:

Thanks for your note. I think Pilates will be a great cross-training program for your girls. There are many wonderful STOTT PILATES workshops that you can take that will give you exercises and specifics for training with this unique population. I would recommend:

Functional Fitness for Racquet Sports on Mat and Reformer
Jumpboard Intervals
Athletic Conditioning on the Reformer and/or on V2 Max and/or on the Stability Chair
Mini Trampoline workout (this is new and not up on STOTT PILATES site yet)
BOSU workshops

You can find descriptions about these at:
http://www.stottpilates.com/education/cont-ed/index.html

All these workshops will help you enhance your skills as a teacher for working with athletes that play racquet sports. The golf conditioning workshops may be beneficial to you as well. The jumpboard, BOSU and trampoline workshops, listed above, will help you create workshops that promote balance, endurance and power for your athletes. This way you are helping them develop all the finesse that is required to be stable around their joints and providing them with workouts that “surprise” their joints so they can adapt to a variety of situations.

Melanie’s Lower Extremity Series in the month of May might also interest you. Of course, these workshops are not specific to working with athletes only.

Our studio is offering many of these workshops listed above. You can see the schedule for 2009 here:
http://www.pacificnwpilates.com/stott/5-workshops/home.htm

I hope this information is helpful. I am forwarding your note along to Jean, Melanie and Traci in case they have other things to add.

Best of luck,

Pilates can condition your body and mind like a dancer’s

I started doing pilates while dancing as a student in New York City at the School of American Ballet during the summer of 1988, and it is still the only kind of cross training I do. I’ve tried yoga, I’ve tried running, I’ve tried weight lifting, but none of them have stuck.

 

Pilates has been used by dancers as a method of improving technique and helping to rehabilitate injuries for decades. In fact, famous clients of Joseph Pilates include Martha Graham and George Balanchine, two of the most influential people in American dance history. Because of this, generations of dancers have studied pilates since the 1940’s.

 

So, what makes Pilates so useful to dancers? And can these concepts be applied to others?

Tracey Carboneau of Bouand DanceCompany

 

When Joseph Pilates worked with students, it is said, that he worked with everyone as an individual and, in fact, he had many of his students that were dancers work in a parallel position versus in a turned-out (externally rotated) position. His logic, likely, was to try to counter the work that dancers normally do (often in an externally rotated position) and provide more balance to the muscles fibers of the legs that get overworked by always being shortened in one way. So, while it may be assumed that the idea of turning out the legs is what makes pilates useful to dancers, on the contrary, it seems it is the idea of balance that is more important.

 

I remember when I first started doing Pilates it felt strange and awkward, to try to keep my legs in a parallel position. In fact, I had to look down at my feet sometimes in order to see if my feet really were in that position. I started to feel new muscles working- my adductors felt sore in a new way, and my quadriceps were really weak in parallel positions, especially when asked to jump or balance in a deep lunge. And strangely, my turn-out improved, and I felt stronger while dancing then ever before! I remember thinking, at the time, how odd it was that my legs would get stronger, be able to go up higher and externally rotate more easily by working on the opposing muscle groups.

 

Today, I find this is true with clients. If I focus on creating balance in their overall movement, they find improvement happens in their other activities. For example, if I work with someone that is a golfer, I try to provide them with a workout that balances their body. In other words, if he or she always hits the ball from one direction, I make sure they do a lot of spinal rotation in the other direction when they do pilates, and, inevitably, their golf swing improves!

 

Another reason, I believe, that pilates is such a useful training system for dancers, is that it asks the dancer to do movement that is efficient and full of ease. Just as with dancing, one must condition him or herself in a way that does not create the look of strain. This is untrue in other training systems, like weight lifting, where, often, the focus is on how much weight can be lifted and power, versus the quality of the movement that is being created. Even a male dancer that has to lift his partner has to be able to do this with ease and grace. This means that the power he has in his body must be gained using technique that is, simultaneously, coordinated, rhythmic and expressive. For a dancer, having power exclusive of these other factors is meaningless.

 

Scott Trumbo and Cate Powers of Bouand DanceCompany

Consider this same concept for other athletes, and the same is true. The greatest basketball players, golfers, skaters, swimmers and runners, all share this same quality. Their movement looks utterly effortless, coordinated and beautiful when done well. Granted Michael Jordan isn’t paying attention to the same kinds of details on the basketball court that Mikhail Baryshnikov is paying attention to in a ballet, but I would bet that the level of concentration, attention to detail and skill is equivalent. If a dancer is unable to execute his or her pirouettes well, he or she is going to think about changing any number of things to correct the problem. Perhaps the way he or she is taking his foot of the floor is effecting the direction of the turn, the dancer will have to consider this change and then work to integrate it into the mechanics of the turn until it becomes natural to do. The same way that a basketball player may need to alter the timing of his throw or how he or she releases the ball from his hands in order to consistently throw the ball in an accurate direction.

 

What I realize as a pilates teacher is that the idea of training your body to be able to do things with precision and ease is a skill that everyone can use. I believe, human beings were designed to use their body that way. In a pilates class, I ask my students to do the same thing I would ask of myself as a dancer: to pay attention to the quality of the movement, the rhythm, dynamic and genesis of it.

 

With this point of view, an exercise like “Footwork” on the reformer becomes quite demanding. A student not only has to think about the placement of his or her feet, but the timing of the movement, the alignment of the knees while they bend and straighten, the position of their back and the recruitment pattern and quality of the muscles that are at work to either stabilize some parts of the body or create effortless, coordinated movement with others. Finally, can all these things be integrated so that the movement is done as efficiently and easily as possible.

 

Pilates, for me, will always be a remarkable conditioning method, because it conditions me like a dancer. It incorporates all the subtle distinctions of training my body as an artist that must take care with the placement of my hands, feet, eyes and head while incorporating the power and control of an athlete that must jump, turn and have fluid, exquisite control.

 

 

 

 

Special conditions- asthma, arthritis & degenerative disc disease

This question was sent and responded to through email, but we thought others might be interested!

From Jeff to Pacific NW Pilates:

Jeff Ong

From Leslie Braverman

Hi Jeff:
Thanks for your questions; I’m so glad you like the blog and will be attending some of Melanie’s upcoming courses and workshops; she is really the expert in this area, but I thought I would put in my two cents. I know she will have some comments for you to consider too.

This question about asthma as related to the principles of breathing is an interesting one; I don’t think I can recall being asked about it before. At any rate, I have not read a lot about the subject. That said, there are some interesting books out about the topic that you may want to look into. Alexandra Hough has written a book called “Physiotherapy in Respiratory Care” that talks about not only asthma but many other mild and chronic respiratory conditions.
She also has a whole section about breathing techniques for asthma.

To summarize, she says that certain breathing techniques can be used to diminish stress and anxiety (some of the triggers of asthma- although there are many, many others), aid in giving a person a feeling of control, promote relaxation and improve the efficiency of breathing. She emphasizes that the individual should find a comfortable way of breathing, it should be gentle (not deep or forced), encourage breath awareness and diminish residual tension (do these things sound familiar?!) She uses these techniques with patients and encourages them to do them regularly and, particularly, if they feel an attack coming on. I would love to hear if others, with asthma, have felt any changes, positively or negatively, from practicing pilates on a regular basis.

With regard to osteoarthritis (vs. rheumatoid) and degenerative disc disease, the first is a degenerative process in which cartilage around a joint wears away and the second is progressive structural degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Generally speaking, compressive, sheering forces at their respective locations will contribute to both conditions. Therefore, localized joint stability will be really important and, since we are speaking, specifically, about neutral versus imprinted spine and which is better for an individual presenting with spinal osteoarthritis and/or DDD, I would suggest that working in the spine’s neutral position will be most beneficial to individuals with these issues. Working in the spine’s neutral zone with support from the pelvic floor, transversus abdominis and multifidis will be vital to your client’s spinal health, and it will be important that they are cued to avoid bracing, overuse of their erector spinae and/or substituting other superficial muscles for these deep local stabilizers.

I know Melanie will have a ton more information for you about this topic. Diane Lee has also done some amazing studies about neutral spine and lumbopelvic stability; she is worth checking out.

Thanks for your note. Would you mind if I post this, along with our answers, to our blog? I think others will be interested in these topics too, and I would like to hear what others have to say. Let me know.

Thanks.
–
Leslie