Rapid Rehab LA Pilates Based Physical Therapy Brentwood California

Injuries to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), is the most common found in the realm of sports.  It has been estimated that somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 individuals have experienced some sort of damage to their ACL. The ACL has a normal range of flexibility, which unfortunately can be stretched beyond its ability. When this occurs a “tear” or “rupturing” takes places within the ligament itself.

This happens quite often in sports, usually when a played makes too sudden of a movement or puts too much stress on the area when an individual torques the body away from the a planted foot. Athletes that wear cleats are also at a bigger risk of a torn ACL, however surprisingly women make up a bigger percentage of ACL injuries than men. The biggest problem with an injured ACL is that they don’t heal themselves. This is one area of the body that will remain “loose” without proper attention.

A rehabilitation program for an ACL injury should include flexibility exercises, strengthening movements, increased endurance training, coordination integration and agility training. The goal of all ACL physical therapy treatments is to reintroduce balance between the two legs. The injured leg needs to be reinstated as a equal counterpart of the hip girdle before treatment can be exchanged for regular activity. The therapy itself will focus on strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee, to reinforce the area that has been affected by the non-operating ACL.

First of all, the initial stages of physical therapy will focusing on developing a full range of motion in the knee. This will be essential to the overall health of the injured area in the long run. After flexibility had increased, then strength training will be introduced into the program.

How fast an individual recovers from an injury is dependent upon an influx of factors. Age is a big factor, since healing becomes more difficult the older you are. Consistency in your rehab exercises is of great importance since that will be the key to a speedy and safe recovery. The health of the injured individual before the injury will also dictate the rate at which physical therapy will enable healing after the fact.

Another factor that will affect recovery time is if your ACL has or has not been surgically operated on. If the physical therapy is a post-surgical program it may be more painful and the rate of recovery will be slower. If it is non-operative therapy than it tends to be easier. However, with this injury most physicians will prescribe a lifelong rehabilitation program to keep the body in working condition for the years to come.

Instability may always be a concern with those that suffer from an ACL injury, but with the proper dedication to the strengthening of the muscles surrounding the injury, most people can continue normal activity within three years. This estimation is of course dependent on the seriousness of the injury.

Pilates based-rehab is excellent for those that suffer from, but is not limited to post-surgery pain, muscle strain, sciatica, impingements, scoliosis, fibromyalgia, hip or knee replacement surgery, chronic neck and back pain, performance or sports injuries, shoulder girdle pain, hip and knee pain or strain, as well as foot and ankle issues. Pilates has also yielded excellent results for soft-tissue injuries.

In recent years Pilates based rehab has incorporated meditation, Yoga, medicine and Swiss balls into its circuit. Because of this, a wider range of creative movements has been added, making the benefits of Pilates ever more so reaching into meditative responsiveness and mind-body balance. The stretching and lengthening movements that one can achieve, through the series of postures developed in Pilates, rely on the use of pulleys, straps, and arm and leg cuffs. Long and short box accessories can be added to the regime for variety, but the exercises will still remain easy to do and easy on the body.

This layering of endless positions and options give any Pilates based rehabilitation instructor the ability to create a personalized system of appropriate movement for each client. An instructor’s attention to detail coupled with their extensive knowledge of biomechanics should make anyone who suffers from a nagging injury feel optimistic about their recovery.

Pilates is also versatile in “who” it can help. Elite athletes can be training next to the elderly, and body builders can be in the same class as ballerinas. The skill level of an accomplished Pilates participant can be developed from the ground up. When a student is beginning with an injury, the goal of Pilates-based rehab is that over time not only with the injury be corrected but that they will be inducted into the world of regular, healthy individuals.

While the scientific data to support Pilates based rehab is scarce, the claims of its participants cannot go ignored as evidence. There have been motor learning studies compiled in support of the case of Pilates and its achievements. Numerous testimonials and patient reports from doctors can act as proof in and of itself.

The healing proponents of Pilates in the lifestyle of athletes, for example, have been personally noted in their rehab reports. (rehabpub.com) Specifically there have been testimonies claiming that their body awareness has increased, that they feel as if their coordination is more acute, and because of increased flexibility they expect a rapid return to their chosen sport. Brent Anderson, (PT, OCS) has been quoted saying that, “The system is yoga-based with Germanic overtones of fitness; by today’s standards it matches with rehabilitation very well.” From a physical therapist standpoint, Pilates is given the credit where it is due.

The beneficiary results of Pilates are indisputable. It seems that Pilates based rehab is quickly becoming a very common addition to manual rehab. This is because the search has been on for discovering a system in which a rehabilitated individual will not only heal, but also excel in the aftermath of an injury.  rapidrehabla.com/services.html