Pilates Has Brought Me Many Unexpected Benefits

As I’ve shared before, Pilates has been an enormous help in managing my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). Although I was introduced to it as recently as December, I have noted improvements in my pain level after only a few sessions.

The fact that I can actually do Pilates doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but I’ll take it. Usually, any kind of resistance work causes me pain, but Pilates doesn’t. I think that in doing Pilates, I get a chance to feel what a “normal” person experiences after a workout!

I do Pilates at a physical therapy center where I was a patient for about two years after I was diagnosed with EDS at age 22. The two main therapists I worked with are still there, and it was their idea for me to try Pilates with a certified instructor who also is a certified physical therapy assistant.

Lisa is the therapist who did most of the rehab work on my shoulder, while Mary Catherine, better known as “MC,” oversaw my ankle rehab and taught me how to walk again. Before that, I had spent my life stabilizing my knee by locking out my joint and balancing on my bones rather than using my less-than-stellar stabilizing tendons and ligaments.

I’ve been amazed at how much Pilates has helped my shoulder, even though we’ve done little that actually involves it. Working on my posture and core strength seems to be highly effective in reducing shoulder pain, and that’s always a win.

At last week’s session, Lianna pushed me on my core work. While I don’t usually see Lisa while I’m there, MC often works with patients during my sessions. This week, I heard her say something like, “Wow, Lianna, that’s a really killer workout you’re putting her through!”

Oddly, while I felt like my core muscles were going to give out on me, I was excited to hear MC comment about the tough workout I was doing. I usually feel like I have to modify everything, or that I’m not working at the level of “normal” people, so it was gratifying to hear that I was attempting a rigorous workout, and that I was able to do it.

Even going only once a week, I’ve noticed a difference in my core strength and overall stability, and it’s provided obvious benefits all over my body. In teaching my muscles, tendons, and ligaments how they’re supposed to work, my body moves less like one giant stuck unit and more like the individual pieces it was designed to use. That has really helped with my pain and allowed me to strengthen in ways I’d never thought possible. And as another bonus, it’s great for my riding!

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