Double Amputee finds Rehabilitation Pilates Necessary
How Injury Rehabilitation with Pilates Exercise can help
Read this incredible story of a double amputee who finds the power of STOTT PILATES® exercise for his rehabilitation. His dedication and commitment in practising Pilates 3 times/week is positively helping him overcome his physical limitations.
Furthermore, having found injury rehabilitation with STOTT PILATES® exercises has helped him take his first step on his long prosthetic legs. Watch how he takes many more steps along the way in this exciting blog
Why Pilates for an amputee?
In spite of having access to the most advanced technology in mechanical advancements in prosthetics, his balance and stability only work if his core and hip muscles are strong.
Balance and stability comes from an intact system of bones, joints and muscles that are able to maintain the stable state of the system during loading and unloading situations.
By strengthening the deep spinal and abdominal musculature, the body is able to stabilise the spine. Following this, the spine sits on the pelvis, so stabilisation needs to also come from the muscles of the hips and legs.
However, without his lower legs and the muscle wasting following the loss of his limbs, this balance and stability had to be regained.
Not All Pilates Fits All
An anatomically, evidence-based method is critical to providing the appropriate exercise prescription for success in any rehabilitation setting.
STOTT PILATES® Rehab is a mindful systematic approach to post-rehab exercise imparted only by licensed health care professionals. This includes occupational therapists, physiotherapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and medical and sports medicine doctors.
For this reason, finding a method based on modern principles of exercise science and Pilates rehabilitation like STOTT PILATES® was crucial to Alex’s rehabilitation.
An truly inspiring story:
Alex lost his legs when a drunk driver run him over at 60MPH while he was asking on a sidewalk, and pinned him onto the wall was the age of 21.
Both his legs were amputated through the knee during an induced coma and he was bedridden for over 2 years. Consequently, he has had to re learn how to walk.
This is no easy task. Being bedridden for such a long time means that the muscle mass in his body decreases greatly, including his legs.
Luckily for him, he was a fit young man. Nonetheless, the impact on his life is unimaginable on any scale. At first, he was on a wheel chair for a long time. Obviously at that time a Pilate rehabilitation programme was not even in the horizon.
Learning how to walk again on short prosthetics was a first step. Imagine having to walk on your knees. Without the mechanism of the lower compartment of the leg, there is no foot, calves or hamstrings to help you balance. In this case, Alex first learned how to balance and ambulate on the short stubs.
But walking on long prosthetic legs is a whole different kettle of fish.
Alex rehabilitation Pilates regime helps him cope with the repetitive daily stresses placed on his spine and joints resulting from walking on prosthetic legs. To illustrate this, try wearing two completely different shoes. I can assure you that in less than 2 days you would start experiencing some sort of discomfort, on your back, knees, ankles, or even neck.
Leg prosthetics are not perfect. One leg might be stronger than the other one, the fitting might not be exact. Amputees tend to develop sores on their extremities. Likewise, depending on the trauma that led to the limb amputation, more wear and tear on the small structures occur.
Although complicated, a good Pilates rehabilitation programme can help people with disabilities.
Equally important to rehabilitation is the emotions in every client, so finding a competent instructor is key to success. Because building trust between you and your instructor helps determine when they can keep pushing their client and when they need to pause or regress the program.
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In short, if you are looking to start your rehabilitation programme and for expert advise, book a consultation today.
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