Hi ! My name is Aurore and I am 25 years old.
I just join Pilatesanytime but have been doing pilates since 2000. I was a professional ice skater . I started at the age of 4 and i retired in late 2008.
Because skating is such a demanding sport and after years and years of jumping and falling, my lower has been one of my problem area. There is time where I can be in a lot of pain and even bending forward can be a challenge !
I was wondering if there is anything I can do in pilates that would help with the pain and strengten my lower back ? I was told my a homeopath that my ligaments are weak due to the jumping and falling.
Any suggestions would be helpful and welcomed !
I thrilled to have found this website ! I am truly enjoying the classes !
Thanks !

Hi Aurore, With low back pain it is hard to pinpoint what needs to be done without seeing the body. Knowing that you are a skater helps. Chances are that you would be hypermobile in the low back. Try to focus on stablizing your spine. When working on extension of the spine, try limiting your range for a while. Make sure you are articulating your upper spine to ext then stop before going to hyper ext of the low back. Pay special attention to getting your abdominal obliques to fire(specifically the internal) and make sure your external obliques are not too rigid.

Welcome Aurore!

Thank you for the welcome Kristi !
And thank you Sarah for your great advice. I will definitly try your suggestions ! Thanks :)

Aurore......I couldn't agree with Sarah more! Hypermobility needs stability. As a former dancer I know this all too well. Challenge yourself with limited range of motion but maybe heavier weight/springs and pay such close attention to alignment! This worked for me: lying on my back, knees in 90/90----tabletop---, place hands in front/on thighs. Press knees into hands and hands into knees. This should "ground" your spine! It feels really good, good luck!!

Thank you Amy ! You are right, it does feel great on my lower back. :)

Yay!!! :)

Those all sound like great suggestions. I had some problems with my lower back and an MRI was the only thing that was able to pin point what the problem was. I was then able to do proper rehab both with a reputable physio therapist and an experienced Pilates teacher.
Not to be an alarmist, I would really encourage you to see a Sports Medicine doctor and get some tests done if needed. It could be so many things or nothing, but always better to be on the safe side and have it checked out. Pain is not normal, its a sign something is wrong. As elite athletes and dancers we are trained to work through pain and some times brush it off as something normal, when its not. When you do get it sorted and figure out what is wrong be sure to check out the classes taught by Madeline Black and Brett Anderson as they are really lower back friendly (all the classes are great though..)

Ya I agree with Mai that with acute or ongoing pain that bad, maybe an MRI and a good back specialist would be a place to start. Find out the source then work from there. Brent Anderson does teach a really good back class here for acute back pain that would be safe. But you would need to have a reformer at home.Rael also has a back workshop plus exercises too.
If you only have a mat prob the classes by Rebekah Rotstein would be be of benefit and safe to do since they are osteoarthritis.
Good luck and hope you feel better soon and find the source of your pain. Pilates is so good! But like anything else you want to be careful.

Hi there, I have worked for 10 years with elite figure skaters such as Yuna Kim, Cynthia Pheneuf, Christina Gao and many more at the senior level. Most skaters come to me with the same issues as yours. I would take most forward flexion out of your routine. I would stick with mainly extension exercises and lateral flexion. Abdominals must be stretched and core work should be done mainly by planking. What generally is the case ( or at least what I have most commonly seen is that skaters backs are tight and weak. Glutes tend to be over developed and tight restricting hip mobility. Strengthening the muscles around the spine will help restore optimal curves in the spine that need to be present for pain free posture. I hope this helps. In addition having fascial work such as Rolfing or ART will help you open up compressed or restricted areas of tissue that adapted to the stresses of the jumping. ( areas such as the QL and hamstrings).