Every year, 50 percent of all Americans 18 and older suffer from a musculoskeletal injury requiring at least 90 days or more to recover and return back to being functional and productive.
That’s one hundred million people in need of a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, a chiropractor, or a rehab specialist.
Are you a rehab professional? Are you looking for innovative and alternative ways to heal your patients? Or, maybe you’d like to gain a competitive edge in your field?
If so, here’s why you should consider STOTT PILATES Rehab Course.
Get the Rehab Edge
STOTT PILATES Rehab Course is a systematic, movement-based approach to neuromuscular re-education based on the STOTT PILATES Five Basic Principles.
This STOTT PILATES Rehab Program is designed for health care professionals including:
- Licensed physiotherapists
- Licensed occupational therapists
- Licensed Chiropractors
- Osteopaths
- Medical and Sports Doctors
STOTT PILATES Rehab Course integrates the modified STOTT PILATES exercises into injury prevention and rehabilitation practice. Through this program, a healthcare practitioner gets to obtain skills on how to observe and understand optimal and non-optimal movement strategies, how these correlate with pain and pathology, and how to layer exercise to design effective programming and workout composition for personal and group scenarios.
The Rehab Course offers hands-on practice and personal evaluation in modules, and immediate practical application to clinical scenarios opportunity predominantly targeting musculoskeletal injury cases after completion of each module.
But what sets STOTT PILATES apart from practices like yoga and traditional Pilates?
Let’s dive into a comparison of these three methods. There are many similarities and some important differences. Of the three, STOTT PILATES remains the preferred method for the patient-orientated rehab approach program.
STOTT PILATES vs. Yoga
Yoga and Pilates both represent mind-body practices. They both focus on the breath. They both encourage long, flowing movement.
But the similarities end here.
Yoga requires practitioners to move from one static pose to the next without transitions. But STOTT PILATES encourages students to flow through positions. So does traditional Pilates.
Both types of Pilates rely on a dynamic, systematic series of movements. They may also incorporate resistance equipment into their practices. But they represent different approaches to rehab.
How do traditional Pilates and STOTT PILATES stack up against each other? Let’s take a look.
Classical Pilates vs. STOTT PILATES
German-born Joseph Pilates was the founder and namesake for Pilates. He created the series of poses at the start of the 20th century. Ever since people have been studying its benefits. Pilates emphasizes concentration, breathing, and fluid movement.
STOTT PILATES incorporates these core principles into its practice, too.
But Pilates purists argue that its exercises should be practiced without modification. STOTT PILATES practitioners take a different tack. Modifications are an important part of the STOTT PILATES technique.
Unlike Pilates, STOTT PILATES differs in terms of:
- Exercise sequences
- Postural alignment
- The use of props
Founder Moira Stott envisioned STOTT PILATES as a modernized version of the original practice.
The goal of STOTT PILATES remains optimal functional health. How do Stott practitioners achieve this? Through the practice of therapeutic movement that encourages the strengthening of the postural muscles.
Moira Stott’s Innovations
Moira Stott was a principal ballerina with the City Ballet of Toronto. She began studying pilates after injuring her neck. She worked with one of Joseph Pilates’s original students, Romana Kryzanowska.
Moira felt impressed by the results achieved with Pilates. But she also noticed areas where the practice needed a serious update.
For example, Pilates doesn’t take into account modern principles of exercise sequencing, modifications and followed through the idea of primary curvature of the spine as ideal postural alignment. To improve upon Joseph Pilates’s original work, she developed a systematic integrated approach between the modern theory of exercise sciences and spinal rehabilitation by working along with physiotherapist and sports medicine doctors.
By 1988, she and her husband began sharing this revised version of Pilates with the world. The STOTT PILATES Method of rehabilitation has earned a devoted following in the world of rehab professionals.
Why? Because it works.
The STOTT PILATES Technique
What’s the most important difference between the STOTT PILATES method and traditional Pilates? Spinal alignment during STOTT PILATES exercises.
When Joseph Pilates developed his technique, contemporary thought held that the safest position for the spine was the primary ‘C curve’ or flat alignment. This was known as an imprinted spine.
Pilates’s contemporaries believed the imprinted spine could even cure certain spinal misalignments. But the idea of a flat spine became questionable.
Over time, rehab professionals and physicians concluded that the imprinted or flat back was not as safe or ideal as once thought. They realized that the secondary curves developed after birth once a person gets upright to walk and move is sustained throughout their lifetime.
Stott brought this innovation to Pilates. She argued that an imprinted spine could lead to injuries. Instead, she advocated the idea of secondary curvature as a neutral spine.
Why? Because a neutral spine respects the natural curvature of the spine.
In some positions, a neutral spine is crucial as it allow us to balance our body weight on lower limbs with minimal muscular effort. This promotes to efficiency in movements by providing a safe and effective way of exercising.
How does this play out in a real-world setting? In STOTT PILATES classes, when both or one foot is on the floor with sufficient core strength to stabilise during exercise a neutral curve of the spine is recommended. Where else in a situation where both legs are extended in the air and in a situation of more muscular support needed to stabilise the imprinted slight flat position is recommended.
The Principles of the STOTT PILATES Method
STOTT PILATES adheres to five basic principles:
- Breathing
- Pelvic placement
- Ribcage placement
- Scapula movement and stabilisation
- Head and cervical placement
Breathing is a crucial principle to STOTT PILATES Method. Breathing stimulates circulation. It enhances patient focus, and it prevents muscle tension during the exercise.
Proper pelvic placement protects the spine. STOTT PILATES changes up spinal alignment and encourages stability. These spinal adjustments keep the lumbar spine and the pelvis protected.
Ribcage positioning and alignment also directly affect the alignment and stability of the thoracic spine.
STOTT PILATES instructors focus on shoulder blade stability. This avoids patients from experiencing neck strain and stiffness in the upper shoulders.
Instructors guide patients towards the proper placement of the cervical spine. The emphasis remains to respect a natural spinal curve or neutral alignment on the neck.
Extensive Training for Rehab Professionals
STOTT PILATES offers extensive training to physiotherapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, and others in many areas. Therapists can receive continuing education, professional development, and certification in the following areas:
- Functional anatomy
- Comprehensive
- Intensive
- Advanced
- Injuries and special populations (ISP)
- Rehab
- Specialty Track
Each course covers the fundamentals of the STOTT PILATES Method. This includes the five basic principles.
Classes also teach students about effective communication using various verbal and imagery cueing. Students gets the opportunity to enhance their observational skills and ability to analyze postures.
Classes also teach students about postural issues. They also get to learn about modifications for different body types including the practice for programming.
Some instructors also supplement their training with continuing education workshops.
These workshops cover a wide variety of topics from athletic conditioning to sports. Courses include exercises and modifications appealing to diverse populations.
The STOTT PILATES Rehab Course
The STOTT PILATES Rehabilitation Course caters to rehab professionals involved in:
- Assessment
- Diagnosis
- Creation of treatment regimens
The method can help practitioners develop training programs to prevent injuries, too.
So, how does the STOTT PILATES Rehabilitation Course work?
A Licensed Physiotherapist and STOTT PILATES Certified Rehabilitation Instructor will teach you. You’ll learn about STOTT PILATES’ five basic principles.
They’ll guide you through how to apply them to modified mat work, reformer exercises, and light equipment.
The Knowledge You Need
You’ll also learn how to observe and recognize non-optimal and optimal strategies of movement. This is a crucial skill during the rehabilitation process.
And you’ll learn how to craft layer exercises. Layer exercises lead to effective programming. They help practitioners create workouts for personal and group situations.
By the end of this hands-on fitness training program, you’ll have more than one hundred exercises in your repertoire. You’ll also have multiple modifications for each exercise. These modifications are based on the following:
- Scapular conditions
- Pelvic conditions
- Spinal conditions
- Peripheral joint issues
After completing the program, participants can instruct others using the STOTT PILATES Method. And for those who pass the exam?
They’ll be recognized as STOTT PILATES Certified Rehab Instructors. This certification represents another level of credentials. It means a new skillset to add to their existing rehabilitation practice.
A Level-By-Level, Modular Education
The STOTT PILATES Rehabilitation Program is divided into a sequence of courses. These courses let you learn from the ground up. The “ground up" approach ensures instructors meet the needs of a wide variety of students.
The courses are designed to allow students to assimilate and apply what they’re learning at a slower pace. This slower approach allows people from a variety of backgrounds to fill in gaps.
At the same time, they’ll be in the process of learning the STOTT PILATES method.
Some students may require more teaching experiences. Others may need additional assistance with functional anatomy or movement study. Still, other students may need to strengthen their foundations in Pilates.
The STOTT PILATES Rehab Program provides the training students need at their own pace. Courses are designed to transform each student’s previous deficiencies into proven strengths.
Specialised Coursework
Within the program, you’ll have a choice of specialized coursework. For example, you can choose from the following areas of specialization:
- Rehab Mat Work and Reformer (RM & RR)
- Rehab Cadillac, Chair, and Barrels (RCCB)
The Matwork, Reformer and Cadillac, Chair and Barrel is further divided into two level to address various clinical condition:
- Level 1: Spine, Pelvis and Scapula Stability
- Level 2: Peripheral Stabilisation
This course of study runs approximately 6 days (Total of 18 Hours) divided into Level 1 (3 days) and Level 2 (3 days) for each specialisation. It is followed by practice hours log where students perfect their technique.
You’ll develop the skills to fine-tune both programming and teaching. You’ll do this based on rehabilitation, fitness and athletic conditioning goals for a variety range of clients.
Let’s explore the specialized courses available and we’ll also look at how each one will prepare you to work with patients.
The Rehab Mat Work and Rehab Reformer Course
The RM & RR course focuses on functional anatomy. It includes an emphasis on the proper biomechanics based on STOTT PILATES principles for each exercise.
Students will learn how to apply essential and intermediate matwork. They’ll also learn how to build reformer repertoire into patient’s workouts. The course teaches students to design their own exercise sequences. It helps them apply necessary modifications. Students also gain experience in integrating small equipment into personalized workouts.
You’ll come away from RM & RR training with a solid foundation in STOTT PILATES. You’ll also hone the ability to create Pilates mat work and reformer routines.
You’ll feel confident crafting exercise regimens that are therapeutic, strengthening, and motivating.
The Rehab Cadillac, Chair, and Barrels Course
The RCCB course prepares you to teach and work with patients on intermediate and essential exercises. You’ll learn how to use the:
- Arc barrel
- Stability chair
- Ladder barrel
- Cadillac trapeze table
- Spine corrector
Our Educational Goals
Our goal is to create a system that revolves around care. This care should follow those with musculoskeletal injuries from acute care to post-rehab fitness.
Our coursework includes many clinical case studies and clinical reasoning quizzes. These allow our students to discuss indications and contraindications. They also learn how to match practical applications with real-world scenarios.
We teach rehab professionals to understand and identify contributing factors. We also teach them how to cue and correct exercises using palpation strategies.
An In-Depth Education
The Rehab program focuses on subacute and acute stages of injury. Courses teach integration and application of the STOTT PILATES repertoire in a clinical setting.
STOTT PILATES Intensive course allows more experienced students to work quickly through training, but the Rehab Program provides students with more clinically related and relevant knowledge.
That way, they can perfect their skills of observation and instruction.
STOTT PILATES Rehab course is comprehensive and highly skilled. It provides a crucial understanding of functional anatomy for rehab therapists. It makes the essence of each exercise (and its modifications) simple and easy to understand.
Students will come away with newfound confidence. They’ll create STOTT PILATES workouts that encourage healing. And they’ll help patients strengthen and prevent future injuries.
The STOTT PILATES Rehab Course
As a rehab professional, you want to help others recover from musculoskeletal injuries. You want to help them improve their strength and fitness levels. And you want to provide them with the knowledge to prevent future injuries.
The STOTT PILATES Method adds a vast repertoire of proven exercises and modifications to your rehab toolkit.
As a student of a STOTT PILATES Rehab course, you’ll hone your skills of observation. You’ll increase your understanding of certain postures and exercise sequences. You’ll learn how to effectively teach and encourage your students.
Interested in learning more about the benefits of a STOTT PILATES Rehab Course? Find out more about how Pilatique Pilates Studio is educating the next generation of rehab professionals.