Bone Mass Research Opportunity at The Pilates Studio

It’s been a week and nearly everyone at The Pilates Studio has learned the standing balance series that Sherri Betz Physical Therapist and Polestar Pilates Educator taught me in her osteoporosis course.  Last week’s post reviewed three necessary components of a bone-building workout.  It’s been fun teaching with my mind’s eye towards bone health, and I’ve already seen some changes in people’s strength and proprioception.  This week I want to continue our look at osteoporosis by outlining an opportunity for The Pilates Studio!  As a community we could be a part of a research study that is gathering data for a Pilates Based workout and its effects on bone density.  We could as a community not only benefit from the research that has already been done, but we could also contribute to the health and wellness of others.

If you are interested in being a part of this study, please read the following:

1.     Participants must have their Bone Density taken on a DEXA machine within two months of the beginning of the program.

2.     Participants must communicate with their physician regarding desire to participate in this study.

3.     Participants must commit for one year to do a standardized home program along with pilates sessions.

4.     Participants must agree to keep any medications that they are taking consistent, and cannot be taking any bone density medication. 

5.     At the end of the year in this program participants will need to get bone density taken on the same DEXA machine.

Now if for some reason, you are not qualified for the study due to one of the criteria above, there is no reason why you can’t still participate in the program.  We may not be able to use your data as part of the study, but you could certainly learn the bone friendly home program, and focus on the bones in your pilates sessions!

Before the start of the program there will be some basics that need to be covered.  Don’t worry if anything below seems daunting.  It’s my job to understand these concepts and communicate them to you.  If you are a client at the Pilates Studio, you’ve covered these ideas many times over, and if you are new to us all of the following concepts are covered during our Introductory Package.

1.     Participants must have an understanding of neutral spine in all positions.  standing, supine, kneeling, lunge, quadruped and plank (both front and side)

2.     Participants must also understand Ron Fletcher’s centering cues.  (Ron Fletcher is a Pilates Elder, who can be credited with many of the posture cues that are prevalent in the Pilates repertoire.)

3.      Participants must be working through Sherri Betz lunge progression (Don’t you worry we’ve been working on this already and there's a video for practice below!)

4.     Participants must be aware of the role of the transverse abdominals in standing, kneeling, supine, and prone.

5.     Participants must be aware of the shoulder girdle and its role in axial elongation and core control (Fancy words for things you already know)

6.     Participants will practice the side lift exercise.

7.     Participants must understand thoracic extension and spine articulation (More big words for what you already know)

Now to get started, each participant will need to set up an initial appointment.  At this appointment we will start gathering data about your lifestyle and health history, and then lead you through some movement tests.  After this initial appointment your pilates sessions will begin focusing on the home program and the apparatus program.  Your progress will be charted for one year, at the end of which another DEXA test will need to be administered.  

Are you ready to get started????  Why don’t you get ahead of the game by trying this lunge series,  Thanks Sherri Betz again for showing such great information!

I said it last week too! What if we all emerge from the coming winter months stronger and more balanced than ever before?

Katrina Hawley, C.M.A, PMA-CPT
Co-Director of The Pilates Studio

Increasing Bone Mass with Pilates Exercises

I can’t tell you how many clients have come to me and said, “I have Osteoporosis, is Pilates weight-bearing exercise?”  Osteoporosis is a diagnosis that is often handed out at the Doctor’s office with a “Be careful! Your bones might break,” or a “You’re not getting any younger,” or “Here’s a prescription for Fosamax, or Boniva, or estrogen replacement,” or “You haven’t been drinking your milk!”  Sometimes the diagnosis is treated as hopeless, and simple directions like “do weight-bearing exercise,” can be as confusing as anything else.  Often, when people come into The Pilates Studio with news of osteoporosis, there is a little slump in the shoulders as if the inevitable has happened, old age is approaching…However, osteoporosis doesn’t have to be a slow and anxious wait to a hip fracture!  It is not the inevitable disease of the aged, and the best part of an exercise program geared towards bone growth is the side effects of increased strength and proprioception!  What are the side effects of Fosamax again?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take a course with Polestar Pilates Educator Sherri Betz, PT, GCS.  Sherri is a Physical Therapist who has spent the past 20 years studying osteoporosis in both a research and clinical setting.   In her course we reviewed what movement leads to bone growth, and what movement might increase the risk for fracture.  We reviewed several research studies and discussed the role of nutrition and posture to bone growth! There is so much information that I want to share, but most importantly I want to celebrate the strength and power that can be gained along with the bone growth.  In this weekend, Sherri taught a class that was designed for older adults (85 and over).  We started the class sitting in chairs and progressed to standing, while using the back of the chair for some balance practice.  This was not an “easy” class.  I broke a sweat and the muscles in my hips were sore and stronger!!!!  As I was taking this class I thought to myself:  What if we lived in a world in which the wisdom of our elders was more apparent than their frailty? 

As you can see I’ve been inspired and plan to share as much of this information with you as I can.  In this post, I want to explore what components need to be in a bone building movement program, and over the next few weeks I hope to share even more information with you.  Let’s look at the following three components:

A bone-building workout must:

1.  Include weight-bearing exercise that increases osteoblastic activity (bone generation),

2.  Eliminate movement in certain planes of motion that increase the risk of vertebral fracture.

3.  Include movement that prevents fracture by preventing falls.  (Balance challenges)

 

The complexity within these three categories can be mind boggling and overwhelming, but it is my hope that with a little information over the next few weeks, osteoporosis won’t be such a scary word!  And that this blog will give the resources necessary to find the strength and power that comes with an increase in bone density!

First, what is weight-bearing exercise that increases osteoblastic activity?  

Here are some of the tidbits that Sherri shared in regard to weight-bearing exercise!

First, “exercises need to be site specific,” For instance if you have osteoporosis in the hip the movement that you choose must challenge the muscles in and around the hip socket, and if you have osteoporosis in the spine you must challenge the muscles that run along the back of the spine.

Secondly, the weight bearing exercise must be challenging, and should “include activities that impose bone loads substantially greater than those experienced during activities of daily living.” In other words, if you can do 20 reps without fatigue then the exercise is not challenging enough!

And finally, once strength has increased and a once challenging exercise becomes easier, it is imperative to progress the exercise so that the load on the bone is increased!  (Increase resistance or proprioceptive challenges, or change exercises)   

With the above information can you think of ways that your pilates exercise might have to change?

What movement needs to be eliminated? Sherri Betz made sure to emphasize that we are not trying to turn people into “a box on legs.”  When thinking of movement elimination, we want to keep as much mobility as possible without increasing the risk for fracture.  In osteoporosis of the spine, flexion of the spine and the combination of flexion with rotation (bending forward, and bending forward with rotation)  puts a load on the vertebral body that leads to compression fracture and increased kyphosis (increased curvature of the thoracic spine). Yet, there is a bright side!  Eliminating flexion and increasing the extension of the spine improves posture!  At The Pilates Studio, one client called the swan (spine extension exercise) her fountain of youth!    

Now think about your pilates workout?  What exercises need to be replaced?  What exercises might be added?  The elimination of thoracic flexion from your pilates workout will in no way decrease the amount of core strengthening available to you!  Believe me when I say The Hundred with the head down requires even more abdominal strength than The Hundred with the head lifted in thoracic flexion. 

The final component of this new Osteoporosis friendly empowering and strengthening workout is fracture prevention, by improving balance to prevent falls. 

The Pilates Studio is no stranger to balance practice.  Do you remember last spring’s balance challenge?  If a person has a diagnosis of Osteoporosis it is a clear assumption that improving balance will decrease the chance of a fall, which will then decrease the chance of fracture. 

How is your balance? Can you stand on one foot?  Sherri Betz showed us many ways to challenge the balance.  Here are a just three standing exercises to try:

For all of these exercises stand next to a wall in case you have to suddenly catch your balance.

1.     Stand with your feet together, and by together I mean the entire foot is hugging the midline!  Close your eyes and notice how your weight shifts from side.  Hold this for approximately one minute.

2.     Stand with one foot in front of the other.  Line your feet up heel to toe and keep your balance.  Start with your eyes open and if you need additional balance then close those eyes

3.     Repeat #2 with the other foot in front

How did it go?  Could you commit to doing these three exercises everyday?

There you have it, a small tidbit of information that was presented in a wonderfully full weekend.  I hope to share some more over the next three weeks with the following three posts:

1.     In next week’s post I want to outline a fabulous opportunity for the clients at the Pilates Studio.  It is now a possibility for clients at The Pilates Studio to be a part of a national study.  Over the next year we can gather data and increase the information out there about pilates and osteoporosis!  It will be a great way for individuals to increase bone density, and also an excellent way to contribute to the greater fight against frailty and old age!

2.     The week after that I will interview our very own Naturopath, Dr. Allison Willette.  As many of you know she has a plethora of knowledge about exacting nutrition.  And I might even include a bone building recipe or two.

3.     And the final osteoporosis post will outline a home program that will build bone health, and make everyone who commits to it strong!

What a fabulous fall it promises to be!  I can’t wait until the spring when we emerge from our New England winter ready to climb mountains!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA - CPT

Co-director of The Pilates Studio

For additional information feel free to follow these links!
www.therapilates.com

National Osteoporosis Foundation
International Osteoporosis Foundation
Foundation for Osteoporosis Research & Education
American Bone Health

Mommy, Me, and Pilates classes!

Congratulations, you have a new baby!  You just gave birth!  You have this little bundle of joy to love, nurture, and support.  You are quickly learning all of the things you couldn’t imagine about parenthood…Now here’s something that is often underestimated.  Childbirth is hard.  It’s been compared to running a marathon, and I’ve even heard a new mother who runs marathons say that childbirth is harder than a marathon!  Well, I am here to tell you that Pilates is the best way to help a new mom recover from childbirth, and that a Pilates Mat Class can provide the kind of gentle strengthening exercise that any new mom needs.

 And now here comes the conundrum!  What new mom has any time whatsoever to get to a Pilates class?  Really am I kidding myself?  Trying to advertise Pilates as a great recovery from childbirth could only be the ridiculous blunderings of a woman who has never had a child!  Don’t I know about the feedings, the pure exhaustion?  Don’t I know that when you include the cost of childcare, pilates becomes even more expensive than it already is? How can I possibly suggest that Pilates is possible for a new mother?   Well let me tell you about the BYOBaby class at The Pilates Studio!

Read the description of BYOBaby

A breast and bottle feeding friendly Pilates Mat Class that welcomes diaper changing interruptions.

babies that are a few weeks-6 months old are usually the most cooperative, but any age is welcome!

This is a class of moms or dads and their babies!  Everyone in the class understands that babies might cry!  Everybody in this class understands that babies need to be fed, and everybody in this class understands that sometimes babies pull hair.  This is a class with an environment that supports the moms and dads.  You can come workout, and no one will be wondering why you brought your baby with you!  For the noon hour every Thursday, The Pilates Studio is dedicated to new moms, dads, and babies!

We love seeing the babies grow!  We love seeing the strong parents!  We love creating an environment of wellness!  After all, seeing mom and dad exercise is certainly going to be one of the many observations the babies can take away from early childhood!  We learn by example from the youngest of ages!  The BYOBaby class is Thursdays at Noon! 

Anneliese Mordhorst is the fabulous instructor, and her warm demeanor creates an atmosphere that supports the parents and the babies!  And do you see the pictures and all of the cuteness?  They speak for themselves really!  Anybody at the Studio is available to talk to any new parent!  Any new parent you know needs to know about this class!

Pilates Exercises for a Great Tricep Workout: Part II.

We all want those sleek, tone, and beautiful arms!   Every week I hear about a celebrity that has enviable arms.  I always hear, “I want arms like…”   In last week’s post, I explained that there is more to beautiful arms than 100 tricep dips!  Last week I wrote about the impact of efficient shoulder movement to the overall muscle tone of the arms.  I even explained a few exercises that would increase the width across the front of the chest so that the shoulders are prepared for the arm workout of this week’s post.  Now that you’re ready and waiting..I have to play the role of my own devil’s advocate.

You’ll notice that only one of the seven exercises explained below “isolates” the triceps.  And if you’ve done any amount of internet research you’ll find that these exercises are not usually listed anywhere near a tricep workout, so technically if you are looking for a workout that isolates the triceps you haven’t found it!  But then again there is this soapbox from which I’ve been known to spout gobbs and gobbs of opinionated movement blather, and I’ve stepped up onto it again to say:  It is my firm belief that to truly effect change in the muscle tone of the body, it is absolutely necessary to strengthen the individual muscles within the greater context of muscular function and integrated movement.  We must teach the body how to move and the muscle tone will follow, and more importantly (in my opinion) when we are moving better and more efficiently the long and sleek arms of others won’t register a blip on our  “I should be better” radar!

Think of it this way.  Go ahead a give a squeeze to your upper trapezius (The muscle tissue between the top of the shoulder and the ear.)  Do these muscles have muscle tone?  Are they rock hard? That is how strong you are!  Now think back to your exercise regimen, do you do any exercises to tone the upper trapezius? Or possibly are all of the tricep exercises that you are doing actually increasing the muscle tone of your upper trapezius and not touching your triceps at all?…Okay, now I shall step off of the soapbox and plead that the following workout will make your upper body change, and maybe once the change has happened your triceps might not even be a part of your thought process.  Maybe just maybe you’ll be standing so tall that you see the world in a completely different way!

Watch the video below, and then look farther for more explanation:

This brings me to our first exercise.:

Prone extension:  This exercise accomplishes two goals.  First, it provides an opportunity for your body to slide the shoulder blades away from the ears and secondly it allows the body to bear weight through the arms while maintaining an open chest.  This exercise teaches the form that is necessary for any tricep exercise.  It teaches the open chest posture that allows the triceps to engage whenever you move your arms.

Our next exercise progresses the work of Prone Extension into the Swan:

The Swan has two very important moments for the triceps.  First, as you are lifting your body and your elbows lengthen the triceps are very much involved, but if your shoulder blades slip higher to your ears your body will recruit muscles of the lumbar spine and the upper trapezius to complete the movement.  So as you are straightening your arms be sure to keep the shoulder blades sliding down to the ground. 

The second part of the exercise also requires tricep control.  As you bend the elbows, it is absolutely imperative to keep the chest open and slowly let the elbows descend to the ground so that the triceps are able to do their part!

From here we’re ready to release the hands, you’ll extend your arms behind you in the Dart.  This exercise is the closest you’ll get in this workout to an isolated tricep exercise, but really you are also employing your spine extensors and you are definitely still sliding the shoulder blades down away from your ears!

Next we have the side plank and twist prep.

First sitting on your hip and bearing weight on one hand requires that the entire side of your body be involved in the “arm” work.  As you are shrugging your shoulder you are exploring the range of motion and finding the stable place where your arm bone is completely connected to your shoulder blade.  Then as you continue and lift your hips into space, you are maintaining that shoulder stability!

This exercise then progresses into to side plank and the twist, which allows the body to take what it has learned into a full body integrated movement….

If you haven't watched it yet, here is the video again.  See the workout for yourself and as an admission, my triceps were sore for two days after filming this video! 

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, R.S.M.E

Co-director of The Pilates Studio

Pilates Exercises for a Great Tricep Workout: Part I

Today a client came in with a copy of a short article entitled “Ending the Under-Arm Jiggles.”  It had a few exercise suggestions, and I read it and said well I can’t believe I haven’t written a blog post about the triceps yet!  I thought back to the many times that someone came in with the goal of toning the arms, especially the triceps, and realized that most often the “underarm jiggles” are about shoulder instability and not about the tricep weakness at all!  We’ve been spending years at the gym “toning our triceps” when in fact we should have been learning how to move!  

Think about it.  How much do we use our arms in everyday life?  If our shoulders are moving efficiently then the triceps are working along with the rest of our arms when we type, wash the dishes, make the bed, hit a tennis ball, go swimming, open a door, write a check, or hold onto a hand railing.  If our shoulders are moving efficiently then we don’t have to do tricep-isolating exercises because our triceps are working all day long! 

Now I have posed this solution as if snapping the fingers will lead to magic efficiently moving shoulders, but unfortunately I’m afraid that is not the case…Our shoulders fall into repetitive movement patterns just as easily as our knees, hips, and back.  Our lives that keep us at the computer longer than we want, and the repetitive movements in our work and home life keep our hands in front of us, and then when we finally get to exercise the habits that are created during our lives stay and are there even when doing tricep exercises.  SOOOO what now?  Is it hopeless??? Absolutely not!!!

Let this blogpost be your first step! The following exercises will soon be on the Pilates Exercise of the Day Blog they will help you release the shoulders, and allow you to become aware of the relationship between the collarbone, the shoulder blade, and the upper arm bone.  This relationship is crucial to arms for an even muscle tone.  Once the shoulders have loosened up and your body has a deep understanding of the movement of the shoulders, the tricep exercises that I list next week will be so much more effective and beyond that, every arm movement that you do will be working the arm evenly!

First we have Elbow Circles on the Foam Roller

This exercise teaches the body how to use the collar bone and the shoulder blade.  When we think of arm movement often we are only aware of the shoulder socket, but in actuality there are three joints that are involved in all arm movement.  We have the Gleno-Humeral Joint (arm bones connected to the shoulder blades) the Acromio-Clavicular joint (shoulder blades connected to the collarbones) and finally the Sterno-Clavicular joint (collarbones connected to the Breast Bone).  These three joints create the range of motion that we have at our shoulders and as I said before when we spend most of our days with our hands in front of us, it gets harder to use our full range.  

To do these Elbow Circles lay on your foam roller, and place your hands on your shoulders, begin drawing circles with your elbows and then gradually let these circles become larger.  Become aware of the way that the arm bone moves in the socket.  Allow the collarbone to open as you circle the arm back.  Allow the shoulder blade to move as you circle the arm forward.  Be sure to keep the arm connected to the socket as you continue these circles in both directions.

Now take a break and find your way to sitting.  How do your shoulders feel?  Are they warm?  Do you feel additional width across the front and the back of your shoulders?  Have they dropped?

Next we will do Snow Angels on the Foam Roller

This exercise will help you find balance between the front and the back of the shoulders.  Once again because our hands are in front of us during most of our days, the muscles that run along the front of the chest get short and pull the shoulder joint forward, which makes it nearly impossible to engage the tricep.  The Snow Angels will help open the chest so that next week when the strengthening exercises come, your triceps will be available to you!

To do the Snow Angels lay on the foam roller and let your arms open out to the side so that your chest is open.  Then as if you are laying in powdery snow begin creating your angel wings by letting your arms move towards your head and then towards your pelvis.  Always trying to have the fingertips reaching to the ground.  Find the place that feels the most stretch, rest there, and breathe into the chest!

After this find your way to standing and try to engage your triceps.  Do you feel the entire muscle?  As you move your arm can you feel the tricep participating?

What Now?

Now you get to do me a favor! try these exercises on for a week.  If possible try to do them in the morning and right before you go to bed, and then in a weeks time, I will write the second part of this post that will have plenty information about strengthening exercises and even a video to go with it!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, R.S.M.E

Co-Director of The Pilates Studio

Recipes to Release the Back

Imagine the gravity of the earth constantly pushing you to the ground.  Take note of how much of the day you spend sitting.  How is your posture when you’re not thinking about it? Now think about your low back.  Is it “tight?”  Is it sore?  Should it be stretched?  Should it be strengthened?  Does it have a curve?  Is it flat? Is it sore in the morning? The afternoon?  Can you pick up heavy things without pain?  How does it feel when you sit?  What about when you walk up stairs?  What about after a strenuous workout, how does it feel then?  Is that enough questions for one blog post?  Have I illustrated how overwhelming deciphering back pain and what to do about it can be???  The following recipes are a very good first step.  Often when back pain arises simply taking a step back and allowing your body to do some recuperative exercises is a way to calm the nervous system. It’s also a great way for you to listen to your back, a way to see if maybe your back can answer some of the questions I posed for you.

First, let’s talk diaphragm!  The diaphragm exists at the top of the low back and is one of the big reasons that the first step in any release recipe is finding the breath and using the breath.  In “Breath the Olive Oil in any Pilates Exercise” I talk about how sometimes the breath is all you need, but most often it is the place you start.  For these releasing exercises you might want to play with the Diaphragmatic Breath, the Bucket Handle Breath, or the Pitcher Breath.  All of these breath patterns not only focus the breath, but the breath can begin expanding tight tissues in the spine. 

Before we actually stretch the muscles in the spine, it’s important to see what might be making the musculature of the spine tight in the first place.  Often rigidity in the hips sockets can lead to tightness in the piriformis and glutes, which will then translate into tightness and immobility in the spine.  To see if this is the case first start with a marker exercise in this case the Pelvic Rocks.

Then try these three exercise dedication to hip socket mobilization:

Knee stirs

Butterfly Knee Stirs

Figure Eight Knee Stirs

With all of these exercises be sure to keep the pelvis still while moving the thighbones in the socket.  In these exercises your hands are doing the work for the muscles in your hip and legs, which allows the muscles of the hip and legs to release.  Subsequently this often allows the muscles of the back to release too.

Now try your marker exercise again.  Rock your pelvis being sure to use the pelvic floor and belly muscles without the glutes and the hamstrings.  Is the range of motion different?  Is there less tension?  Listen to your back what is it telling you.

In the next recipe we want to address the Psoas.  Read the post “The Psoas and World Domination” to learn more about this very important and sometimes tyrannical muscle.  Releasing the psoas can lengthen the spine and open the front of the hips.   

In this recipe, the Bucket Handle Breath is the most efficient because you can focus this breath into the entire circumference of your ribcage allowing the top of the Psoas to release.  Did you know the Psoas and the Diaphragm are fascially connected?  When a person exhales the diaphragm lifts into the body and thus the lengthening of the Psoas begins before you are ever stretching.

After you have mastered the breath then begin with the following sequence of Psoas Stretches

Easy Psoas Stretch

Easy Psoas Stretch with Ankle Circles

Psoas Stretch with Pelvis on Ball

Psoas Stretch with Pelvis on Foam Roller

The previous exercises are a progression from gentle stretch to a more intense stretch.  They can be substituted or done in sequence whatever time allows in your life. 

Finally, it’s time to stretch the muscles of the back.  If you have done the previous release work these stretches will be more effective and allow for more length in the muscle tissues of the low spine.  The following exercises are also a progression from gentler to more intense.

Lumbar Spine Stretch

Lumbar Spine Stretch with Pelvis on Ball

Lumbar Spine Stretch with Pelvis on Foam Roller.

The exercises above create a wonderful space and time to find the breath in the back of the body.  Use the breath to lengthen the tissues as you stretch.

Now is the time to ask all of the questions from the first paragraph of this post.  You have taken the time to listen to your back, and allowed the muscles in your body the space to recuperate.  Maybe the answers will come a little easier.

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, R.S.M.E

Co-Director of The Pilates Studio

PS After all of this, your back may just be asking for an inner thigh squeeze.  It might even say please! 

The Foot and Knee Pain

Last week I was reminded of the importance of the foot once again.  Over the past year you may have noticed that I’ve written a few different posts about the foot and exercises for the feet.  We have “Stomping Out Foot Pain with Pilates,” “Recipes for an Agile Foot,” and “Recipes For a Strong and Flexible Ankle” Not to mention the Pilates Exercise of the Day Blog dedicated the entire month of July to foot and ankle exercises.  It may seem that I’m obsessed.  I was even beginning to think so, but then a client came in with a foot question, we went on a foot tangent, and that tangent led to a decrease in her knee pain. 

With this information in mind, I once again started to compose a post about the foot. This post was to relate the foot to knee pain.  As I was writing I felt I was composing words that were very similar to what I had already written.  To check, I reread “Stomping out Foot Pain with Pilates” and with a little curiosity, I looked at the stats for that post.  And then I was floored.  That post has been seen twice as much as any of the other posts in The Pilates Studio’s blog. I could toot my own horn and say that the writing was brilliant so of course my post was seen so many more times, but I think realistically the trend here is that people are googling.  And people are googling about the foot and foot pain.  People are looking for different ideas about the foot.  People are starting to understand the importance of the foot and its relationship to knee, hip, and back pain.  The feet are being seen as more important in overall health.  So am I obsessed?  Well, not anymore than the rest of the google population…

I took this obsession to the University of Hartford’s Hartt School.  It’s the first week of classes and as faculty we observe the placement ballet classes to make sure that the students are placed in classes suited to their technical development.  Well as I was watching the students, once again I was observing how they use their feet.  Are they using their feet efficiently? Are they applying the foot articulation exercises built into the ballet barre to the work in the center?  And if I noticed that a student wasn’t articulating the foot efficiently, I asked myself what I knew about that particular student’s injury history, and well I must admit I was starting to see some correlations of the movement of the foot to ankle and knee injuries.  Was I ticking the data in any way that I could present scientifically as if there is a correlation coefficient of +.98 between movement of the foot and ankle and knee pain?  Well no not at all, but lets just say these observations didn’t dampen my foot obsession in the least.    

So will this be my last post about the movement of the feet?  I think it’s fair to say no.  Most likely at some point in the future I will feel compelled to write about the feet again and probably then again.  The good sign is the google stats are on my side we are a world obsessed with the feet.  They are our connection to the earth, they give us the spring in our step, and when they hurt they hurt a lot.  Ahh yes, back to my client’s foot and her knee pain, I simply taught her this “Recipe For an Agile Foot.” And it relieved her knee pain.  Will it relieve everyone’s knee pain?  I don’t think so, but I am confident that it should be a part of the puzzle for anyone out there!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, R.S.M.E

Co-Director of The Pilates Studio