Pilates isn’t only about relaxing your mind and body and soothing hip pain in pregnant women. In fact, pilates is considered one of the best activities for people suffering from back pain, as it’ll help you improve your core strength, flexibility and overall posture. But if you decided to try out pilates as first aid to your back pain and tension, have in mind that a couple of props can double up the effectiveness of your exercising sessions. Tempted? Let’s discover what exactly can be helpful and learn a couple of things about them.
Foam Roller
Whether you’re aiming to improve your general posture, or you’re struggling with an annoying pain in your back, don’t hesitate to buy a foam roller for your upcoming pilates sessions. Not only are these rollers affordable for everyone, but they also make for a very effective alternative to expensive treatment devices and different spa massages.
If you’re wondering how will your back benefit from this foam rolling prop, know that they come in a variety of shapes, lengths and textures- from the wave-like ridges to the small bumps patterns to satisfy your preferences and needs. Also, they’re made from different types of foams to create different densities, which is usually indicated by the colour of the roller. As a general guide, black foam rollers are usually the densest and hardest, blue rollers are medium density and white ones are made from the softest foams.
As we already mentioned, once you buy a foam roller, you’ll be able to perform Pilates exercises that are good for your back pain and posture. For instance, you can place the roller behind your mid-back to support your spine as you extend it backwards. Performing this move for a longer period while using your foam roller will help you increase the flexibility of your spine and make the most basic everyday moves with ease.
On the other hand, there’re a bunch of other pilates exercises for relieving back tension and improving your flexibility and posture, and including a foam roller is a huge bonus. And not only rolling out your back muscles regularly will help you to release the tension and remove the physical restrictions in the entire back area, but foam rollers are also excellent to work out knots and release the pressure in specific spots.
Besides for back pain, foam rollers are widely used for other purposes in pilates activities, such as working out your abdominals, increasing your body’s general movements and practising coordination and control.
Resistance Band
Pilates is considered a low-impact activity that helps you strengthen your muscles and improve your posture, indeed. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t get creative and use the extensive range of fitness accessories to work on your back tension and pain while practising pilates. For instance, resistance bands are one of the most widely used fitness props for performing pilates activities, and it’s no wonder at all, considering how beneficial they can be when it comes to getting rid of the annoying pain in the back area.
Resistance bands are made from elastic and also come in multiple resistance levels- light, medium and heavy. But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t other variables, as you can also find designs featuring continuous loops and different handles. And as much as these designs are suitable for different exercises and purposes, the classic resistance band design can be used in an array of pilates exercises for releasing back pain and improving flexibility and posture.
If you’re wondering why are resistance bands beneficial, it’s because they remove the impact of erratic and jolted movements while doing different pilates exercises. On top of that, the more you pull on the band, the more tension you have and the more it resists you in opposition, which doesn’t only protect you from injuries, but also deeply strengthens your back and activates your painful spots. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why resistance bands are very popular in rehabilitative settings.
When it comes to performing pilates exercises with the help of a resistance band, the classic bridge is your best ally for soothing back pain. To perform this exercise, you need to lie on your back with your knees bent and stretch the band across your hips. Then start simultaneously pushing your feet onto the floor to lift your hips off the ground. Don’t forget to inhale and exhale and keep your weight on your upper back and shoulders without arching your lower back.
Stability Ball
Stability balls, or commonly referred to as fitness, gym or Swiss balls are the classic and yet the most versatile prop used for different pilates activities. Back pain is no exception at all, as these balls come in a variety of sizes to suit people of different heights and body constructions. Except for that, there’s a wide range of pilates exercises that can improve the pain in your back using this simple prop.
And even though these balls are called stability balls, they work as an element of instability while doing different exercises so the body can adjust and respond naturally by keeping balance. In essence, this helps you practice control and build strength in your back muscles.
If you’re wondering how is this beneficial for soothing back pain, it’s because these types of spinal movements are stimulating your body to produce increased amounts of natural pain inhibitors. The enhanced balance and coordination of your core muscle groups are also great to stabilize the spine and control your posture, which in return reduces the stress on your lower back.
Except for that, using stability balls is one of the simplest ways to start moving again after a back pain episode, and practising for a longer period will also help you maintain a neutral spine position and proper posture.
