You know Pilates is supposed to be good for you. You've heard other people saying Pilates helped their back issues immensely, how fabulous it feels, and how strong they've gotten. But you? Not so much. You didn't think you had back issues, but every time you're on your mat, your back is straining and it feels terrible! This can't be right.
That's true! Your Pilates practice shouldn't be hurting your back, but knowing that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to deal with when it happens. Let’s go over some of the things you may inadvertently be doing that’s causing strain, and what you can do about it!
Let’s start with the most basic, but important, question:
Do you already have back issues?
If you already have back issues, some Pilates exercises might exacerbate the problem. Please be sure you’ve discussed with your doctor and gotten approval before doing Pilates. If you’ve gotten the go ahead, remember that you’re the only one that knows what’s going on inside your body, so you need to communicate if something doesn’t feel safe or if it’s causing you pain. Your instructor won’t know to modify or eliminate an exercise if you’re not letting them know how you’re feeling. Just because something LOOKS fine doesn’t mean it FEELS fine.
This is also an important note: if you have back issues, you NEED private sessions. Your instructor isn’t just saying that, they truly want to help you. They can’t help you if you need special attention but are in a general group class. If you work privately, it’s easier to find out what works and what doesn’t for your body, and then you can determine what exercises you should skip or modify if you’re joining a group class. Private sessions are worth it and can have you confidently joining a group Pilates class pain-free!
You also have the option of a Joe’s Gym/Pilates Gym-type workout, where you go through a specific workout (determined with your teacher during your private session) on your own, with your teacher watching & giving you support & corrections but you’re sharing your time with several other people (usually 4-6 people in a group). Your teacher doesn’t tell you what exercises to do or give you cues for the exercise during this session, they correct and help you get more from your self-guided workout. This can be virtual or in-person, but sometimes virtual sessions are recorded and shared for a few days to a week after class so you can see what you’re doing and hear your corrections again. It’s great because it’s your own specific workout, but at a far reduced rate from a private. You must be able to work through the exercises on your own, as the time is divided between each participant.
If you don’t have back issues, it’s probably more of a strength and connection issue you’re having than anything else.
Let’s investigate, shall we?
You have a weak core & you’re trying to do too much
If you have a weaker core, you won’t have the strength or stamina to do all the exercises in a class. Especially the ab series!
My clients always hear me remind them, if you feel pain or strain (the bad kind), it won’t just miraculously go away if you do the exercise more! You need to stop the exercise, re-group, and try again, especially with back pain. Your back muscles are postural muscles, so they’ll work whether or not they should be, if other supportive muscles aren’t. This is why people strain their backs when they should’ve been using their abs…but didn’t.
You’re trying to keep up in group class or with a video
It’s important you slow down a little, make sure you’re not just going through the motions, and try to feel your way through. You’ll get faster by starting slower! If you get in 2 reps when it seems like everyone else has done 5, who cares? Eventually you’ll get to 5, too, but with strength and control, and it will feel good.
If there’s an exercise that’s not currently in your body (maybe you can’t rollover without strain?), do something you’ve already done until it moves on to the next exercise you can do. Not every exercise in the repertoire is for every body, and that’s okay!
You’re not using your Thass
Not got that butt fired up? You’ll likely compensate with your lower back. Using your Thass (where the back of your Thigh meets your A$$) - instead of clenching your glutes
-will make a difference in what your back is doing. It’s really important to have a supportive backside! If you just read that and thought, "I barely feel my butt in my practice", that's gotta change. The bottom part of your butt should be participating in pretty much ALL of the exercises.
You’re not keeping your shoulders connected to your back
Our shoulders are usually the first things to disconnect. When you notice you're gripping through the tops of your shoulders or that your shoulders are up to your ears, there’s probably strain happening in your lower back, too. It’s likely your face is jutting forward at the same time, and your abs won’t be helping keep your back supported. That's a recipe for back pain!
You’re using your hip flexors instead of your abs
Do your hip flexors or quads hurt more than your abs during your Pilates practice? That’s going to strain your back (and the front of those legs!). Your entire core should be working together for support and connection, not working against each other.
We tend to hang off our hip joints, so our hip flexors just keep getting stronger and tighter, which pulls your tailbone under, which puts strain on your lower back. It’s important to get your abs to work instead. Your Thass can help with that!
You’re using your pecs instead of your upper back
Ever feel like your chest is gripping and that all the work is in the front of you? That’s not helping your back. Gripping, hunching, collapsing forward – they take the assistance you could get from your upper back connection out of the picture. If your upper back isn’t helping, your lower back is probably jumping in.
There’s more going on than you realize
Sometimes we don’t want to admit to ourselves that we have an issue. We tend to downplay things and ignore them until it’s impossible to brush off anymore. If you just read ever other suggestion of common things that go wrong in your Pilates practice that might be causing your back to hurt, but none of them seem to be the issue, you might want to get in touch with your doctor. There might be more going on than you think! It’s a lot easier to get help if you go at the first sign of trouble, rather than after you’ve been dealing with it for a long time.
So, which of these common issues might be causing your back to hurt during your Pilates practice? Try them and let me know if being aware of them helps!
If you’re having trouble determining if you’re doing one of these things, get a qualified instructor to help you with your practice for a few sessions. They can help you find where you should be concentrating to make your back pain-free during your Pilates practice!
Happy practicing!
Xo, Kimberly
Comments