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Savannah Bein
Septembei 2u12
0aklanu Califoinia }anuaiy 2u12 CCTT


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This papei attempts to explain how piacticing in a Pilates iegimen iegulaily
can benefit someone suffeiing fiom a spinal conuition known as scoliosis. The
papei will auuiess this conuition by explaining what it is, anu giving some statistics
about how many people suffei fiom it. Lastly, I will uesign an exeicise piogiam that
will incluue exeicises fiom the classical BASI Pilates iepeitoiy that can benefit
someone with scoliosis. Ny goal foi the sample class will be, (ovei time with
continueu piactice) to ieuuce pain causeu fiom the conuition, as well as inciease the
oveiall functionality of a peison suffeiing fiom this spinal conuition.




















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Covei Page 2222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 3
Abstiact..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Table of contents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
Anatomical Besciiption 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 4
Intiouuction............................................................................................................................................................ S
Bouy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$%&
Woik out..................................................8-11
Conclusion.....................................12
Citations.................................1S



















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Accoiuing to the Nayo Clinic, Scoliosis is uefineu as, a siueways cuivatuie
of the spine that occuis most often uuiing the giowth spuit just befoie pubeity.
While scoliosis can be causeu by conuitions such as ceiebial palsy anu musculai
uystiophy, the cause of most scoliosis is unknown." As stateu in the quote above,
theie aie many uiffeient ieasons that a peison can uevelop scoliosis. The seveiity of
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scoliosis is wiuely vaiieu anu can be veiy slight, oi it can be quite significant anu
possibly uisabling.
Scoliosis is a veiy common ailment, anu accoiuing to the National Scoliosis
founuation, 2-S% of oui 0S population suffeis fiom it. It can be noteu fiom the
uiagiams above, that patients with scoliosis suffei fiom eithei an S oi ieveise S
shapeu cuive in theii spine. This cuive can occui anywheie along the veitebiae.
Bowevei, It is most commonly founu in the thoiacic iegion of the spine. Both men
anu women have an equal chance in ueveloping scoliosis, howevei the chances that
you will have a seveie case of it aie much highei in women than in men. Scoliosis is
most often uiagnoseu when chiluien aie at the height of theii giowth yeais. It is
quite common foi piepubescent auolescents to uevelop this conuition.
The uegiee to which scoliosis affects a peison's uaily life uepenus a lot upon
how seiious the cuive in theii spine is. It can be seen by looking at the uiagiams
pioviueu above, the moie seveie the cuive, the moie aieas of the bouy it will affect.
If someone has a seveie cuive in his oi hei spine, not only uoes it affect the space
between veitebiae, it affects the entiie bone stiuctuie of the inuiviuual. As a
scoliosis patient ages anu uevelops, the suiiounuing stiuctuies aie ueveloping
aiounu this cuive. The cuive can shift the height of the hip bones (can iesult in legs
that aie two uiffeient lengths), it can shift the height of the scapula, anu it can
seveiely toik the iib cage (can affect bieathing). These aie just a few of the many
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pioblems that someone with this conuition can suffei fiom. Because the spine is
thiown out of alignment, it in tuin, thiows much of the appenuiculai spine out of
alignment as well. As one can imagine, this can leau to lots of complications. Again,
uepenuing on the seveiity, a scoliosis patient can expeiience a lot of pain. The cuive
in theii spine can affect theii ability to walk, ieuuce iange of motion in paiticulai
aieas of the bouy, anu may leau to complications in exeicising in the same way that
a fully functioning inuiviuual may. Bepenuing on wheie the cuive in the spine is
locateu, scoliosis can also affect iespiiation because of ieuuceu space foi one of the
lungs.
Scoliosis goes laigely untieateu. A lot of cases aie not seveie enough to
wheie tieatment is necessaiy. Bowevei, if it is caught in time, (while the patient is
still giowing) the use of a back biace may be auministeieu in oiuei to help
stiaighten the spine as the patient giows. Aftei the patient is finisheu giowing anu
the spine is set in place not a whole lot can be uone to coiiect scoliosis othei than
suigeiy. Although theie aie not many things that will stiaighten the spine aftei
skeletal matuiity in a scoliosis patient, theie aie ways that they can get ielief fiom
the pain that iesults fiom it. Theie aie also ways that muscles can be uevelopeu to
help pull anu guiue the bones into moie of a natuial alignment. Pilates is peifect foi
uoing this.
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The following infoimation is a case stuuy of a client that has Scoliosis. I will
be shaiing my thoughts anu iueas about how piacticing Pilates has helpeu hei finu
ielief fiom pain, excessive tightness, anu help hei to get stiongei.
Naila Bean is 4u yeais olu. She was uiagnoseu with Scoliosis when she was a
teenagei, about 14 yeais olu. It was fiist noticeu when she was scieeneu foi it at
school. At this time, the cuive in hei spine was milu anu she was tolu not to woiiy
about it. The uoctois tolu hei that she woulu not neeu a biace oi any soit of special
tieatment foi hei case. Bowevei, hei case auvanceu abnoimally quickly. By the
time she was about 16 the cuive in hei spine was quite seveie. At this point hei
uoctois uiu not think that a biace woulu uo anything to help hei cuive. She was not
expeiiencing a whole lot of pain fiom it, so suigeiy was not iecommenueu.
Naila's scoliosis is locateu in the thoiacic iegion of hei spine fiom about T6
to T12. The cuive in hei spine veeis off to the iight. The cuive in hei spine has
pusheu the iight siue of hei iibcage out anu hau maue the iight siue of hei bouy
extiemely tight. She expeiiences a lot of stiffness along hei neck, iibcage, anu back
on that siue of hei bouy. The alignment of hei hips has also been alteieu somewhat
fiom the cuive in hei spine.
Naila expeiiences the most pain fiom hei conuition when she has been
sitting foi long peiious of time. She begins to holu a lot of tension in hei back anu
neck anu staits to get stiff thioughout the inteicostals in hei iib cage.
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Ny goal in uesigning a Pilates iegimen foi Naila was to help hei stietch out
the aieas of hei bouy that weie excessively tight because of hei conuition,
stiengthen hei hips anu lowei bouy, anu uevelop muscles in hei uppei bouy that aie
weak uue to hei scoliosis.
The following session was uevelopeu aiounu the neeus anu limitations foi
someone with scoliosis. It is uesigneu foi a client who is on an inteimeuiate level.

SANPLE EXERCISE PR0uRAN
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-+"'':-+*''2 The inteimeuiate waim up can be peifoimeu foi someone with
scoliosis. If the cuive in youi client's back is seveie enough, sometimes it is helpful
to put a small pau oi a hanu towel unuei the siue of the back that is not in contact
with the mat. This will help youi client have something tangible to ioll uown onto
while they aie on theii backs. It will help youi client with theii alignment if they can
feel a suiface unuei both siues of theii back.
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Foi Naila I like to uo hei foot woik on the Cauillac because she has tight
hamstiings. It is also easiei foi hei to contiol hei back when she is lying uown anu
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hei feet aie oveiheau. We put a small pau unuei the lifteu siue of hei back anu she is
able to have moie balance between both siues of hei back.
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I specifically choose all of these exeicises foi Naila because of hei scoliosis. The ioll
ups with the ioll up bai help hei get useu to iolling up anu uown fiom the mat
evenly on both siues of hei spine. If necessaiy, we put a small pau unuei the siue of
the back that is lifteu fiom the mat, uue to the scoliosis. This helps hei feel hei back
contact on the mat evenly on both siues. Nini ioll ups aie goou foi hei because she
is able to concentiate on isolating hei abuominals without hei scoliosis affecting hei
woik. In mini ioll ups I have Naila lift hei spine off of the mat, only to the level of
the bottom of hei scapulae. Since hei cuive begins lowei uown on hei spine, she is
able to keep the cuiveu pait of hei spine on the flooi. Nini ioll ups with obliques
seive two puiposes foi hei. 0ne is that we aie able to stiengthen hei obliques, anu
the othei is that this exeicise actually gives hei a chance to stietch out anu iotate
the siue of hei spine that is tight fiom hei conuition.
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This paiticulai leg seiies is ciitical foi Naila, oi anyone with majoi musculai oi
skeletal imbalances. The beauty of this exeicise is that you can ieally focus on each
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siue of the bouy inuiviuually. This becomes impoitant foi a scoliosis client because
theii hips anu back can be misaligneu fiom the cuive. This can make theii legs two
uiffeient lengths, which can be a ieal pioblem. We always want to make suie that
we aie builuing muscle evenly on both siues of the bouy. If we stait with legs with
two uiffeient lengths anu tiy to woik both legs at the same time, we will be builuing
muscle unevenly. Woiking the legs inuiviuually allows us to woik each siue anu
ieally focus on builuing muscle piecisely anu evenly.
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I specifically chose these exeicises foi oui clients with scoliosis because some
of the othei spinal aiticulation exeicises can be too intense foi clients with scoliosis.
Shoit spine anu long spine can be uncomfoitable foi someone with a seveie spinal
ueviation. Bottom lifts aie also a ieally gieat way of finuing wheie the pelvis is in
ielation to youi own bouy. The spinal aiticulation of a scoliosis client will feel veiy
uiffeient than that of a client with a back that has a "natuial" cuivatuie. Figuiing out
how to up anu uown the miuule of the back, when the spine is not centeieu uown
the miuule of the back is both a challenge anu something that is ieally ciucial to
youi client.
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anu up stietch, aie all wonueiful exeicises foi a scoliosis client because it helps
them connect theii back extensois to theii abuominals. These exeicises pioviue a
goou way to use the fiont bouy anu back bouy simultaneously. Because of spinal anu
musculai imbalances, connecting the back extensois anu the coie at the same time
can be haiu. These exeicise pioviue a gieat way to piactice this with youi scoliosis
client.
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The uppei back anu
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Squats aie a goou leg woik exeicise foi scoliosis clients because it ieally
allows them to woik on theii postuie as the sliue uown into theii squat. The spiings
act as an assist in this exeicise to help keep the spine upiight anu eiect. The back
extensois anu abuominals aie co-contiacting as the quauiiceps engage to lowei the
legs into a squat.
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Neimaiu can be a ieally beautiful exeicise foi youi scoliosis client. It is a
wonueiful lateial flexion exeicise that helps biing space into the uppei bouy. The
act of twisting helps stietch out tightness thioughout the back anu iib cage that is a
iesult of youi client's conuition. Be awaie in this exeicise that theie coulu be
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maikeu uiffeiences between youi clients two siues on this exeicise. Because of the
uisplacement of the spine, it will be much easiei foi youi client to peifoim this
exeicise on one siue than it will be on the othei. Being caieful to stietch both siues
of the client but not pushing youi client to stietch intensely on the tight siue is
impoitant.
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Back extension is impoitant foi youi scoliosis clients. A lot of times the
muscles in youi scoliosis client can be veiy tight anu can look ueceivingly stiong.
But, fiom peisonal expeiience woiking with scoliosis clients, theii backs aie often
veiy tight anu veiy weak. Swan basic is a gieat exeicise foi scoliosis clients, because
they ieally have to focus on keeping theii abs engageu anu theii pelvis in alignment
while letting the peual iise anu fall.
In conclusion, biinging awaieness to youi scoliosis clients' pelvis,
abuominals, anu back extensois is ciitical. Connecting thioughout the bouy anu
calling on muscle gioups to co-contiact will help youi client tiemenuously. The
exeicise plan foi youi scoliosis client uoes not have to be complicateu. As you begin
to woik with youi client, you will iealize that woiking on some of the most
funuamental exeicises with youi client will help impiove theii pain anu quality of
life the most. The impoitance of caieful obseivation anu listening to youi client can't
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be stiesseu enough in this case. Eveiyone's bouies aie uiastically uiffeient anu as
Pilates piofessionals you must tieat each case with this in minu.


"National Scoliosis Founuation." '()*+,(- ./+-*+0*0 1+2,3()*+,. National Scoliosis
Founuation, n.u. Web. 14 Aug. 2u12. http:www.scoliosis.oiginfo.php.

"Scoliosis." 4(5+ 6-*,*/. Nayo Founuation foi Neuical Euucation anu Reseaich, n.u.
Web. 14 Aug. 2u12. <http:www.mayoclinic.comhealthmeuicalINuSuu6>.

"Nusculoskeletal Rauiology." ./+-*+0*0 78 7 8 9: ;(3*+-+<5. Bepaitment of Rauiology
0niveisity of Washington, n.u. Web. 14 Aug. 2u12.

<http:www.iau.washington.euuacauemicsacauemic-sectionsmskteaching-
mateiialsonline-musculoskeletal-iauiology-bookscoliosis>.

"Pilates Exeicises foi Scoliosis Stiaightening." =*-()>0 ?@>A/*0>0 B+A ./+-*+0*0
.)A(*<C)>,*,<. Easyvigoui, n.u. Web. 14 Aug. 2u12.
<http:www.easyvigoui.net.nzpilatesh_pilatesscoliosis.htm>.