M.S. and other Neurological Conditions
BENEFITS OF PILATES FOR PEOPLE WITH NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
Alongside medication, Pilates is a great help in combating some of the symptoms and side effects of neurological disorders (MS and Parkinson's). If you have a neurological condition balance, muscle tightness and coordination are the top three things that will be affecting your movement.
“Pilates can help you to manage your MS. It helps most when you practice often and over a longer period of time. Even doing little or few exercises regularly can make you feel better..”
We work on these in every Pilates class. If you want to find out more about why balance is so important, and some simple exercises you can do to improve yours, why not have a read of our ‘balance blog’.
“Injuries and pains all stem from clients’ daily routines being out of line with the way the body evolved to move. For those with neurological conditions it is like a magnifying glass on those issues. So it’s even more important they seek to unlock their bad movement habits and replace them with life giving new ones”
Andy’s passion for helping people get better use of their muscles and joints is at the core of Leith Pilates. Andy has been working with people who have MS since 2010, and has trained with Mariska Breland in Exercise for Neurological Conditions.
In every class we work on balance, strength and stretching. This work is very important to counteract the tightness that can occur from neurological conditions. We know how your energy can vary and our classes have both high and low energy options to fit around your desire to push yourself or take that necessary step back.
Based on successes with clients in his volunteer work teaching at MS centres up and down the country, and his work with other special groups (hypermobility, thoracic tension), Andy built his own brand of movement to help clients understand and work on the root cause of their joint pain. Andy’s Pilates based movement system puts the power back in your hands. At Leith Pilates we give you movement hacks to correct your posture and build strength daily, not just in class.
For those with more limited mobility, we recommend the MS Therapy Centre Lothian, also based in Leith. We have worked closely with the MSTC Lothian to establish several classes per week which are accessible to all. You can find the timetable and contact information at https://mstc-lothian.org.uk/