Life does take its toll and by my late 70s I was no longer steady on my feet. Peripheral neuropathy dimmed messages from my feet. Surgery for a torn tendon in my left ankle sapped its bit of muscle strength leading to a couple of falls resulting in a whiplash injury in my neck. The doctor finally recommended bed-rest to give my neck a chance to heal, further weakening my leg muscles. I feared my walker might become a permanent fixture in my life.
My daughter kept pushing me to try Pilates, but both Physical Therapy and some moderate pool exercises had aggravated my neck; surely the popular Pilates would be too strenuous. Finally I agreed to meet with Crystal McCabe, the instructor she thought so knowledgeable at Core Conditioning Studio.
Within the first hour of evaluation, as Crystal guided me through gentle motions she was able to point out several defensive posture adaptations my body had taken on to protect my neck, throwing all my movements out of balance. (Why had no one else noticed this?) Pilates is designed to strengthen and balance the whole body, so we didn’t just work on my neck. As my neck got better my posture improved and I was walking better. I could see a difference in just a couple of weeks, and now at two months I am substantially stronger. I have become a fan of the method and my walker is in the garage.
BR - Federal Way WA