Pilates is a form of exercise that includes concentration on each movement, steady and controlled breathing, stretching and strengthening of your muscles. Many of the exercises focus on your “core” muscles, which are those muscles in your abdominal, back and around your pelvis. Working on your core can help to improve your balance, which will also work to decrease your risk of falling. Pilates exercises are modifiable and can be performed on a mat or with special pilates equipment including the Reformer, Pilates Chair, and CoreAlign™ When designing an exercise program for individuals with osteoporosis, there are specific movements that should always be modified. Exercises that require forward flexion/excessive bending of the spine are not the best choice for osteoporetic patients because of the stress they place on the spine. These movements should be modified with both mat pilates and pilates using the equipment.
As we’ve already talked about, exercise is an important part of the osteoporosis treatment program, especially exercise related to improving strength and balance to reduce falls. Research shows the best type of exercise for bone health is strength training and resistance training. Pilates exercises definitely check all those boxes as it can be used to improve strength, coordination and balance, and with the use of the reformer or other pilates equipment, it can also utilize resistance training. A small study in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation was able to show that Pilates is beneficial to those with osteoporosis. This study included 41 women who were split into 2 groups – one group performed Pilates exercises and the other group was a control group. The study showed that the Pilates group not only had an improvement in quality of life, but also increased bone mineral density and decreased pain.