My apologies for posting late this week, instructors! Various elements (internet hackers! illness!) came together into a perfect storm, and so I join you one day late. But, Pilates never sleeps! So, let’s get started. This week, I’m discussing where pain and discomfort experienced in the adductor magnus may actually begin. Keeping in mind where this muscle originates (along the ramus of the pubis and the ischial tuberosity), we can start to deduce that dysfunction may also begin if there is misalignment, such as a rotation, in the pelvic bowl.
Beyond issues of skeletal alignment, muscular dysfunction can also play a role in adductor magnus issues. Loss of eccentric control can be a big problem, as can gripping or overuse of the muscles along the backside of the pelvis, such as the obturators or the posterior pelvic floor. We want to engage our bum, not grip it! Discomfort may even be felt in the the hamstrings, if those muscles are left unsupported and unbalanced by their big friend. Finally, if the TFL is over-dominant and grippy, there is an altered use and demand placed on the adductor magnus. This can also happen if a dysfunction exists with the pectineus. So what do we, as instructors, do? We restore control and proper alignment, of course! Check back next week for exercise goals, and take a close look at your clients this week – watch for balance through movement and engagement. Engage, rather than grip!
The Oburator Externus
Hello May! This month, we’re going to explore the adductor magnus. Originating along the ramus of the pubis and the ischial tuberosity, this muscle inserts into the femur along the linea aspera (side note: an easy way to remember “linea aspera” is to remember that it runs down your leg from your…bum). It functions as a major stabilizer for the pelvis on the femur and controls the movement of the leg. In this way, it does almost everything – adduction (of course), medial rotation, lateral rotation, hip extension (co-contracting with the glutes and hamstrings) and…abduction! This may seem counter-intuitive initially considering this muscle’s name, but the adductor magnus works to eccentrically control the femur as it moves away from the pelvis. Revisit your anatomy, watch your clients closely this week, and check back next Thursday for an entry on dysfunction and what it may look like.
The Adductor Magnus
by Emily on April 18, 2013
Welcome back! I apologize for my lack of an entry last week – things have been wild around the studio! If you’re in the Portland area, be sure to come in and check out our Pilates Week event happening April 29th – May 3rd. We’ve got free group classes, free privates, info sessions, workshops with John Garey and PJ O’Clair AND a wrap up party on Friday night! We’ve been buzzing around the studio getting everything ready.
Nerves and the Piriformis
That said, this week we’re going to start looking at piriformis dysfunction. When working correctly, the piriformis is a precision muscle that integrates load through the pelvis, connecting the sacrum and the greater trochanter of the femur. It enables mobility while also providing stability, ensuring proper body mechanics that are essential to load transfer throughout the entire body. When overused or misused, the piriformis is perceived by the body as being tight, or shortened. Such tension can be caused by a variety of issues, so it is important to take a step back and look at the overall picture. How are the muscles around the piriformis behaving? Do we have proper balance anteriorly and posteriorly, or is the pelvis being pulled in one way or another? Don’t forget to check the spine – issues there can result in nerve pain that may affect what is being experienced in the piriformis. Check back next week for an explanation of what those issues may be, and keep remembering to look at the body as a system – one thing affects the other!
Are you a dancer who has been sidelined and frustrated by injuries? Do you wonder what your next career will be when dance is no longer a physically viable livelihood?
Leslie Braverman, our own Co-Founder and Co-Owner, and Lead Instructor Trainer, STOTT PILATES, is the lovely ballerina in the photo. She was led to pilates because of an injury and credits it with prolonging her career.
Teaching pilates was a natural transition for Leslie because it used skills she already had:
- a keen body awareness and understanding about physical fitness and movement
- the ability to explain movement and teach it to another person
- the strength and stamina to have a physical job
Leslie and Holly Shaw (current BODYVOX dancer and Pacific NW Pilates instructor) will lead a FREE workshop:
“Pilates: Stabilize Your Dancing and Your Future”
Monday, April 29, 2013
BODYVOX Dance Center
1201 NW 17th Ave.
Portland, OR 97209
6:00pm-7:30pm – lecture & demonstration
7:30pm-9:00pm – cocktails & nibbles
Cost: FREE
Anyone with a background in dance, professional dancers and dance students are welcome.
The evening presentation will include:
- Introduction of Pacific NW Pilates
- STOTT PILATES, the contemporary approach to the original method founded by former dancer, Moira Merrithew
- Why Pilates is good for you today and tomorrow
- STOTT PILATES, the cross-training benefits for dancers
- A half-hour mat class to demonstrate how pilates can help to strengthen opposing muscles, balance asymmetrical patterns, aid in injury prevention and recovery.
- What injuries are specific to dancers?
- What it’s like to be both a teacher and a dancer
- Post-presentation social with cocktails & nibbles
Please RSVP to Tracy O’Hagan via email or by calling the studio at 503.292.4409
