Neck pain affects about 70% of us at some time in our lives. When specialists and imaging are unable to identify a specific identifiable cause for your symptoms, you are usually considered to be suffering from what is called mechanical neck pain (aka “idiopathic” meaning we don’t know why….).
A recent study in 2018 into the effectiveness of Pilates in the treatment of chronic mechanical neck pain concluded that Pilates is an effective and safe treatment with no adverse effects.
At Wellcentred, our experienced instructors use the full range of Pilates equipment and exercises to:
- work on your unconscious movement habits so you stop doing what is/may be contributing to the pain. This is postural work.
- Improve the function/strength/recruitment of the joints and muscles that support the neck and skull, as well as
- do specific releasing and strengthening exercises for the neck itself.
The Pilates method is a type of physical and mental conditioning using well designed and choreographed movements. It pays special attention to alignment (head to toe) to encourage correct body mechanics. This rebalances and strengthens the deep spinal stabilising muscles, lengthens the spine, trains mind-body awareness and improves posture. All these directly influence the load through the neck.
In the 2018 study, each Pilates session lasted for 1 hour, twice a week, for 12 weeks and were conducted in a Pilates studio by a certified instructor with 10 years of experience in the Pilates method.
An earlier 6-week pilot study in 2013 concluded that Pilates has a role to play in the management of neck pain and that although there were good outcomes at 6 weeks, the benefits of Pilates as an intervention for neck pain are greater at 12 weeks and onwards.
The results of both studies contribute to the continuing accumulation of documentation that support the fact that Pilates is a successful long term strategy for those suffering from mechanical neck pain.
If you have neck pain, we recommend that any exercise program should be undertaken after consultation with your doctor to fully assess the possible sources of your pain so we can design the appropriate program for your situation.
References
Cazotti PE MsC, L. et al., 2018. Effectiveness of the Pilates Method in the Treatment of Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Archives of Physical Medical and Rehabilitation, Volume 99, pp. 1740-1746.
Mallin B Physio MSc, G. & Murphy B Physio MSc, S., 2013. The effectiveness of a 6-week Pilates proramme on outcome measures in a population of chronic neck pain patients: A pilot study. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Volume 17, pp. 376-384.
