Chronic pain differs from acute pain in that it often involves heightened sensitivity in the nervous system, a condition known as central sensitization. This means that the nervous system can become hypersensitive, causing even minor or non-harmful stimuli to be perceived as painful.

Chronic pain may also lead to muscle guarding (where muscles tighten around painful areas), loss of range of motion, and a decreased tolerance for activity, all of which can exacerbate pain.

Pain is a universal experience that can range from a mild, temporary sensation to chronic discomfort that affects daily life. While we often consider pain as something to avoid, it plays an essential role in alerting us to potential harm, helping protect us from further injury, and guiding healing processes. However, to understand how pain works, it’s important to explore its biological, neurological, and emotional dimensions.

You have heard the term Clinical Pilates, or even been referred to do it by your allied health professional at one point or another. But it’s a pretty broad term, which can make it tricky to understand what it actually is, and how it differs to other forms of Pilates e.g. Reformer Pilates, Studio Pilates, Mat Pilates, Group Physiotherapy etc!

Have you noticed that often when you wake up in the morning your body feels stiffer and tighter?  Every night when we sleep, we spend approximately 7-8 hours barely moving and during this time the tissue in between our muscles adheres or gets a bit ‘stuck’ in different areas, contributing to that stiff feeling. Movement helps us break down those adhesions in order to improve our range of motion and the quality of our movement. 

There’s been a lot of questions in our studio over the last few months about what exactly the reforms to private health insurance will mean for our clients. It’s something which has definitely been a concern for almost 12 months, but mainly due to its ambiguity. Now that push has come to shove, and all the information is available, we can safely say that business will carry on as per usual.

This is the second blog in a two part series about our brains and how we learn. In the first blog we discussed fixed versus growth mindsets and how our thought patterns help determine our brain’s map. Next we are going to delve further into how the brain works, how it processes information and how we learn. To begin, let’s look at a breakdown of the human brain. The human brain consists of three separate brains, responsible for different aspects of thinking, behaving and reacting.

I have trained in Barre and Pilates with Ash one to one for 3 years. First in London and then when she moved back to Melbourne I missed her sessions so much, we set up a weekly Skype session. She is such an inspirational teacher, her detailed and tailored approach and attention to detail are second to none. Her classes have transformed my body and the way I think about movement, with lots of fun along the way.

Running was not always a thing for me. I was a pretty chunky child, and absolutely hated running! I would be playing rugby every week, but would get so upset at the coaches during the warm up as I couldn't understand why we had to run before the game started, and then run during it as well! Of course, that was because I was so unfit that even the warm up wiped me out, and eventually when I hit high school and got more serious about rugby, I moved past this (to my coaches' delight!). When I hit university, two shoulder reconstructions forced my early retirement out of rugby and steered me into doing a couple half-Ironman triathlons. Here I found that running actually went from being bearable, to quite enjoyable. So let me start to share some secrets on how I moved from a non-runner, to an avid promoter of recreational running. 

So I want you to think about this: you came to Pilates about five years ago with lower back pain or some other ailment that was preventing you from the daily activities you enjoyed. Frustrated and bewildered by Pilates you persevered for the first month or so, not really having any clue why you were doing some of the things you were doing.  Most likely, you enjoyed that often you got to lie down and breathe for an hour... it helped you relax. Your instructor was kind, she/he was encouraging and helped you understand why your back was giving you grief. Soon you found yourself moving more freely as the pain subsided and eventually disappeared completely. Eureka! You were cured and you loved your instructor and Pilates for helping you with that. You began singing the praises of Pilates and vowed to attend every week to ensure the upkeep of your newly found mobility and freedom in your spine.