Pilates

palo

I saw my spinal consultant yesterday and he confirmed that I had had a slipped disc which was pressing on my sciatic nerve and caused my sciatica last year.

The pain lasted for about 6 months and then stopped. In the interim, I was seeing a chiropractor, doing yoga etc etc as well as lots of painkillers. Every time I did the exercises the physio showed me it set off the pain again so I stopped doing what they said.

It seems my back healed itself, is that even possible?

He said I have wear and tear at the base of my spine, hence my lower back pain and recommended pilates. Anyone else done this? and has it helped?

stickywicket

palo wrote:

It seems my back healed itself, is that even possible?

Yes it is. See NHS page on slipped disc. https://tinyurl.com/yasbxg2g


I've never done pilates but Arthritis Care do recommend it.

BettyMac

My brother had awful back problems for many years - until he discovered Pilates. As long as he maintains his routine, he rarely has a problem now.
It seems that strengthening ones core muscles gives support to the lower back and holds everything in place.
My own lumbar spine has a bit of osteoporosis and I sometimes get some pain in that area. I’ve found that gentle daily walking works for me. Sometimes the first 500 metres can be uncomfortable but it generally settles after that and behaves for the rest of the day.

Just a wee note of caution. A few years ago, I started a Pilates class which was supposed to be for beginners but there wasn’t good supervision and I did something to my back which put me off going again.
If I was to do it again, I’d get some individual, personal instruction first. I know it can be expensive but would be worth it in the long run.

palo

Thank you SW will look at that.

Thank you Betty, walking is a bit of a nightmare at the moment (severe arthritis in knee and feet) and have been advised not to try to do long walks, to me currently 10 minutes is a long walk.

In terms of the class, it is at the hospital and because of my other condition, MG, I have to be very careful anyway, anything longer than 15 minutes of gently exercise is beyond me and expect to sit it out most of the session..But thank you for the advice as I think the tendency is try too hard and suffer later, but since I suffer then I have learnt my lesson already. My party piece is collapsing and going into my catatonic state, where I can't move a single muscle until my body recovers, I also can't talk or keep my eyes open so it tends to freak people out...I kinda make sure I don't push myself into that state..

BettyMac

Hi Palo
I’m sorry to hear you’ve such a lot to contend with. I can’t imagine how difficult things are for you.

If the class is at the hospital I hope they’ll take jolly good care of you and I hope it proves useful.

Is this hot weather suiting you?

palo

I am not good with heat normally, but not too bad at the moment. I shall be glad when it goes back to normal, but am dreading the winter now as it will feel so much colder after this summer...

Yes, I'm pretty sure they will.

WelshSquirrel

Hi palo,

I have a different condition to you - OA in my lumbar and cervical spine. Some time ago a physio recommended Pilates to me as if it would almost work wonders, and I attended a weekly class for a couple of years. Although this was helpful at first, as we got into more advanced exercises it began to make the pain worse. Sometimes I'd find that I could hardly stand the next morning. My GP confirmed that it doesn't suit everyone, and I have seen articles since about research that shows it can be less than helpful for some lower back conditions.

So I'm not saying not to try it - it is certainly good at strengthening the core muscles that support the spine, but just to make sure that you have an experienced instructor that can vary the exercises depending on what class members can manage, and to remember that it doesn't help everyone so there's no embarrassment in saying that you've tried it but stopped if it isn't right for you.

Hope it does work for you though!