Clinical Pilates: what it is and what to know before you start
What Clinical Pilates is, what a session works on and what a clinical approach really means. Reviewed by a nurse and Pilates instructor.
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Pilates is an exercise method that combines breathing, concentration and movements performed with control. The focus is on how you perform each exercise and coordinate the different parts of your body.1
The term Clinical Pilates is commonly used to describe the use of Pilates exercises in a health context. In therapeutic follow-up, an individual assessment guides how exercises are chosen and adapted to each person's abilities, needs and goals.2
What does this practice work on?
Depending on the exercises chosen, a session can work on:
- Muscle strength and endurance;
- Mobility and flexibility;
- Balance and coordination;
- Movement control;
- Body awareness and coordination with breathing.
Pilates is not limited to stretching or abdominal exercises. It can involve the whole body, in different positions and at varying levels of difficulty.
What does a clinical approach mean?
When Pilates is used in a rehabilitation context, the exercises are part of a process of assessment, follow-up and adjustment to the person's progress.2 However, the label “Clinical Pilates” does not, on its own, mean there is an assessment or a personalised therapeutic plan.
If you are looking for exercise to address an injury or persistent symptoms, individual advice helps you understand what kind of follow-up is right for you.
At DUO
We aim for the choice and sequence of exercises to take into account anatomy and the way the body moves.
We pay attention to starting positions, points of support and how effort is distributed, with particular care in tasks that place more demand on the lower back or neck. We favour stable bases of support and a progression that lets you work on movement control, avoiding unnecessarily concentrating the demand on a single region.
In exercises done one side at a time, we try to alternate sides throughout the sequence, rather than stacking many consecutive exercises on the same side. This organisation aims to distribute the work and manage fatigue during the class.
This care is part of how we prepare our classes, but each person may respond differently to the exercises. That's why it remains important to respect your range of motion, take breaks when needed and stop movements that cause pain or worsen symptoms.
Get to know our approach and discover DUO classes!
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