Gentle but rigorous, Pilates has features that make it especially beneficial to people with limited mobility.
By Amy Meisner-Threet, MSW
Carolyn Robinson-Pritchard was teaching physical education to Colorado preschoolers when she suddenly collapsed.
“I couldn’t speak,” she recalls of the terrifying moment. “I had a CAT scan, went into the hospital and had an MRI. I was relieved when I finally got the diagnosis.”
Carolyn was diagnosed in 1987 with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Her symptoms included optic neuritis and numbness, from the waist down and in her left arm, which would come and go.
In 1998, Carolyn started doing Pilates, a kind of exercise founded by German-born Joseph Pilates (pih-LAH-teez), that employs specialized equipment to strengthen certain muscles, correct posture and align the spine. She began doing it twice, and eventually three times, a week. She immediately noticed improvements in her balance, posture, and limberness. “The exercises force you to breathe deeply to execute the movement,” she says Carolyn is an independent and spirited woman. She has travelled the world by herself, swims and bicycles. She and her husband run a non-profit tour organization for people with MS called “Adventures with MS.” And she owes part of her zest for life to Pilates.
A Brief History of Pilates
Various forms of exercise seem to work well for people who have MS. Yoga, either on the mat, standing, or modified to a chair, and adapted Tai Chi have been popular and effective. Now Pilates can be added to the exercise palette.
Joseph Pilates adapted his regimen from yoga and meditation. By combining the most effective elements of different exercise systems, Pilates can alleviate common MS symptoms such as loss of co-ordination, and improve balance and posture.
So, who is Joseph Pilates and how did his work evolve? Joseph Hubertus Pilates, born in Germany of Greek parents, was living in England, working as a circus performer and boxer, when he was placed in forced internment in England at the outbreak of the First World War. While in the camp, he began to develop the floor exercises that evolved into what we now know as Pilates Mat Work. He began to work rehabilitating other detainees who were suffering from diseases and injuries as well as to maintain his own strength.
Pilates utilized whatever objects he could find—e.g., bedsprings and beer kegs, rings and bottles—to create exercise equipment for his recipients. Some of these inventions were the primer to the later equipment like the reformer and the magic circle. He called his work Contrology, which he defined as “the comprehensive integration of mind body and spirit.” This philosophy is beautifully elucidated in his 1945 book, Return to Life through Contrology (1945) which he wrote with William J. Miller. Over the years, he developed himself as a body builder, a wrestler, gymnast, boxer, skier, and diver.
After the war, Pilates returned to Germany briefly and found his reputation as a physical trainer/healer preceded him. He was asked to train the German army, but instead decided to pack his bags and head for New York City. On the boat there, he met Clara, a nurse, who became his wife and worked with him to continue to evolve the Pilates method of exercise. She also contributed to the invention of the exercise equipment and the training of his students.
Pilates’ New York studio put him in close proximity to the dance community. Dancers such as Martha Graham and other well-known and well-heeled New Yorkers depended on Pilates method training for the strength and grace it developed in the practitioner, as well as its rehabilitative effects. Until the 1980s, Pilates was still not done outside elite circles.
Joseph Pilates died in 1967 at the age of 87. Clara, his wife, continued to teach and run the studio for another 10 years. Today, his teachings are carried on by the Pilates Elders, and by a large group of contemporary teachers.
Pilates-inspired exercises, usually only done on mats, without use of machines or other apparatus, can be valuable. However, the trademarked Pilates technique is available only at studios that specialize in offering trainers who have expertise in both.
Classes at the MS Society
Because it emphasizes deep, coordinated breathing and slow precise movements, Pilates is not jarring to joints. The exercises that seem to work best for those with MS are those that focus on breathing, derived from yoga and meditation. Such exercises can help improve brain-body integration, as well as help with depression.
A Web site from Pilates Central in the UK (where there are over 100,000 people reported to have MS) states that “one of the best things about Pilates, especially at Pilates Central, is that it can be tailored to fit the changing needs of each individual. Striking the right balance between avoiding over-exertion, while accomplishment on completing a session, is all part of using Pilates as a complimentary therapy in treating MS.”
The MS Society does offer free Pilates classes but participants have to be able to do the mat work independently and transfer to machines. This would most likely be someone who has a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS, as opposed to primary or secondary chronic progressive MS. However, MS is so different for everyone that there is no reason why people should rule out giving it a try, although some may need more assistance than others. Joellen Zembruski-Ruple of the New York City MS Society says that students can bring someone to assist them, but instructors are not able to do one-on-one sessions through the Society’s classes.
I met Rebecca Smith Millstein in New York for a one-on-one Pilates session, which the MS Society graciously paid for. Rebecca is one of the MS Society’s regular instructor. Millstein, who studied dance in North Carolina, says she never really liked working in gyms and once she discovered Pilates she saw how it “helped maintain or improve the daily activities of people living with MS.” She got her certification in 2005 and teaches independently as well as for the MS Society.
“Much of Pilates translates well into actions such as gait, getting up out of a chair, or walking up stairs,” Millstein says. “In addition, both mat work and the apparatus choreography incorporate twisting and reaching. This can translate into daily actions like putting on a coat, reaching for something in a closet, or leaning over to tie shoelaces. The exercises can be modified to suit how my client feels and how their body is responding on that day and incorporate modifications their neurologist, physical therapist or occupational therapist would like them to observe.”
Rebecca had me use a machine called “The Cadillac.” I had no idea what I was in for! Rebecca was terrific and patient and had very healing hands. At one point I was lying on my back, holding the bars behind my head and pushing pulleys with springs with my feet at the same time. She warned me that I might be sore the next day and indeed I was. However, it made me want to try this again because I could see how it builds what is referred to as your “core” strength.
Benefits for MS
Some of the benefits Millstein says that she has observed in her students with MS include:
- increased body awareness and confidence • improved movement quality and stability
- improved posture
- more efficient and effective movement
- improved balance
- improved flexibility
- more appropriate/balanced muscle action
- improved mood
- sense of support, especially in group settings, and not feeling so isolated.
Mary Kay Foley, another certified Pilates from Idaho, was already a physical therapist for 20 years when she discovered the benefits of Pilates and became certified 10 years ago. Foley cites “strength, flexibility, coordination, walking and the ability to transfer” as noticeable improvements for practitioners. She stated that unlike traditional weight training which can close the joints, Pilates helps to “open and lengthen.”
She has worked in both an MS rehabilitation program that is hospital based and also one on one with clients.
I have continued working with a friend and former dance colleague, Courtney Conner-Gardini, based at New York City’s Power Pilates Studio in Manhattan. As with Rebecca, I was doing basic mat work on the Cadillac machine. It is obvious that I need assistance on the machine, or on the floor, but there are so many obvious benefits to be accomplished, that it seems a shame to not enable people with various levels of MS to try the mat work if they can have an assistant with them. Also, Courtney has been great about seeing where I am at that particular day, and modifying the exercises as needed. Since MS is so unpredictable, even due to factors like the weather, it takes an innovative instructor to know how to change things to make the session effective.
Since that first lesson I have been able to roll onto my stomach for certain exercises, but there were moments when I could barely move my legs due to MS. As with Rebecca, Courtney would just move on or modify.
I have no reservation in saying that Pilates will now be a part of my life and I am encouraging anyone with MS or other conditions, no matter what level you are at, or even if you need to have someone assist you, not to be intimidated to try it. I can vouch for it: Pilates is life changing!
Amy Meisner-Threet, MSW, is a dancer, actor and activist from New York City. She writes frequently for Action.
