Pilates for the Equestrian

Transcription

1 1 Pilates for the Equestrian Andrea Turnbull September 4, 2014 La Playa Santa Barbara, CA

2 2 Abstract Pilates is a mind and body workout that focuses on ten specific principles: awareness, balance, breath, concentration, center, control, efficiency, flow, precision, and harmony. When riding a horse one must be aware of what your body language is telling your horse, you must establish proper balance and stay centered in the saddle to stay connected to your horse. A person's breathing is important when riding. A horse can feel its rider take one deep breath and that breath not only relaxes the rider but the horse as well. A horseback rider must concentrate on giving efficient cues to their horse in order to execute precise maneuvers to make the horse and rider perform with flow and harmony, as if they are moving and thinking as one. Pilates can be an extremely beneficial exercise program for the equestrian. In this paper I am going to focus on the lumbar spine and discuss some of the aches and pains that can haunt a rider.

3 3 Table of Contents Page 1 Title Page Page 2 Abstract Page 3 Table of Contents Page 4-5 Anatomical Description Page 6 Case Study Page 7-8 Conditioning Program Page 8-10.Results/Conclusion Page 11.Works Cited

4 4 The Lumbar Spine Anatomical Description Lumbar is derived from the latin word lumbus, meaning lion, and the lumbar spine earns its name. It is built for both power and flexibility -lifting, twisting, and bending. (spinehealth.com) The lumbar spine is made up of five vertebra (L1-L5), sacrum, and coccyx. The lumbosacral joint (L5-S1) is where the lumbar spine meets the sacrum and this joint makes rotation possible. In between each vertebra are discs. Healthy discs are cushiony and act as a shock absorbers allowing flexibility and protection from jarring motion. Facet joints in the lumbar spine allow for the spine to rotate in all directions. Nerves branch off the spinal column at all levels and connect to form the sciatic nerve. Important muscle groups of the lumbar spine include the quadrates lumborum which acts as a lateral flexor, the lumbar erector spine (longissimus and iliocostalis) which act as extensor muscles, and the psoas major which acts as the the primary flexor muscle of

5 5 the hip joint. Pain in the lumbar spine is very common because the L1-L5 vertebra bear the weight of the entire torso. Many people suffer from back pain due to weak abdominals, back extensors, and lack of knowledge of how to engage those muscles to protect their backs during movement. Case Study Lindsey is a 32 year old working woman with herniated discs; L4&L5. She is a competitive horse back rider. She rides twice a week for about an hour and a half a time and participates in horse shows twice a month. When she is at horse shows she spends about 5-6 hours in the saddle throughout the day. Two years ago she was in a horse accident and aggravated the herniated discs. For treatment she takes pain medication and gets weekly massages and acupuncture treatments. Standing or sitting

6 6 for long periods of time cause pain to increase. The only physical activity she gets is horse back riding which requires her to be in a sitting position. Lindsey competes on a national level with her horse in an event called working cow horse. In this event she shows off her and her horse s ability to cut a cow away from a herd. This event is fast paced and the horse is constantly switching directions. It is the rider s job to stay with the horse s motion. This requires lots of trunk stabilization in order to not let one s body get tossed around. Lindsey has taken two private reformer Pilates sessions previously and found the practice to be extremely beneficial but has not kept up with a regular Pilates regime. Warm Up: (Mat) Roll Down (2) Pelvic Curl Spine Twist Supine Chest Lift Chest Lift with Rotation Footwork (Reformer) Parallel Heels/Toes V position Toes Open V Heels Open V Toes Conditioning Program

7 7 Calf Raises Prances Abdominals (Reformer) Hundred Prep Hundreds Flat Back (short box series) Tilt (short box series) Twist (short box series) Hip Work (Reformer) Frog Circles (Down, Up) Openings Spinal Articulation (Reformer) Bottom Lift Bottom Lift with Extension Stretches (Ladder Barrel) Gluteals Hamstrings Adductors Hip Flexors

8 8 Full Body Integration (Reformer) Up Stretch 1 Elephant Arm Work (Reformer) Chest Expansion (Arms sitting series) Biceps (Arms sitting series) Rhomboids (Arms sitting series) Hug-a-Tree (Arms sitting series) Salute (Arms sitting series) Leg Work (Wunda Chair) Leg Press Standing Hip Opener Frog Front Lateral Flexion and Rotation (Wunda Chair) Side Stretch Back Extension (Mat) Cat Stretch Results After discussing goals and problem areas with Lindsey I designed the previous program. I started off with two standing roll downs to access her alignment and stability. Immediately I noticed tightness in her lower back and hamstrings. Continuing on with

9 9 the warm up I chose the pelvic curl to get Lindsey to engage her lower abdominals and warm up her lower spine. Next we went into spine twist supine, chest lift, and chest lift with rotation. I had to keep reminding her to anchor her lower back and to keep the work in her abdominals instead of letting her hip flexors take over. For Footwork I had Lindsey perform parallel heels/toes, v position toes, open v heels/toes, calf raises and prances. The goal here was to have Lindsey focus on her ankle and foot alignment. She has a tendency to rotate her ankles outward. I cued her to focus on putting energy into all ten toes as if her foot was in a stirrup. Ideally one wants their foot to be weighted equally in the stirrup just as it is on the foot bar. In the coming sessions we will advance to single leg work and draw her focus on keep her lower back in a neutral position and stable in the pelvis. In the abdominal work I had Lindsey keep her knees bent to prevent her from stressing her low back as her abdominals fatigued. Continuing on with her abdominal work I had her do flat back, tilt, and twist emphasizing the work in her obliques. This will help her immensely when riding and better able to stay centered in the saddle. Hip work included frog, circles, and openings. We really focused on hip stability and maximizing her full range of motion while keeping her hips stable. In the opening I had to remind her to stay on the same plane while opening and closing her legs, because of her strong adductors she had the tendency to power through the exercise without maintaing control. Next, Lindsey did bottom lift and bottom lift with extension for spinal articulation. Here, we focused on her breath and elongating her spine in both directions as she articulated her spine up and down. I had her do gluteal, hamstring,

10 10 adductor, and hip flexor stretches on the Ladder Barrel. All of her riding and sitting in a flexed position has caused her to become extremely tight in her low extremities. Arm Work included the Arms Sitting Series. I found that Lindsey has lots of upper body strength. I cued her to sit up tall and stay lifted out of her lower back. For Leg Work she exercised on the Wunda Chair. My goal for her was to bring awareness to her hip stability and to engage her hamstrings in the leg press standing exercise. Next we did hip opener and frog front to work her external rotators. She is a rider and because of that her adductors are very strong yet abductors weak causing an imbalance. In the Lateral Flexion/Rotation block I had Lindsey perform side stretch to to work her lateral flexors and obliques. We ended the session with back extension of the mat doing cat stretch. In the cat stretch I wanted to increase her mobility in her lumbar spine. From cat stretch she relaxed into rest position and then did a final roll down. Conclusion Pilates can be beneficial to virtually anyone in all walks of life. The reason I chose to write about Pilates and the equestrian is because I have ridden and shown horses my entire life and worked alongside riders who have chronic lower back and hip pains. Through Pilates I gained awareness of my body and the way I use it. This has made me a better rider and better able to cue my horses with my body. It has greatly reduced fatigue and soreness in my muscles. My goal is to help open the minds of clients and bring awareness to the amazing connection of mind and body.

11 11 Works Cited Body Arts and Sciences Study Guide 2013 Isacowitz, Rael. Pilates. Champaign, Il.:Human Kinetics, print Isacowitz, Rael, and Karen S. Clippenger. Pilates Anatomy. Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics, print. Sieg, Kay W., and Sandra P. Adams. Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy.! 5th Ed. Gainsville: Mega, Print Lumbar Vertebra. Inner Body. N.p., n.d. Web 26 Aug 2014 Lumbar Spine Anatomy and Pain. Spine-health. N.p., n.d. Web 26 Aug 2014