SPECIFICALLY FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

By Jenny Lelwica Buttaccio, OTR/L, certified pilates instructor

Dear Health Professional,

As an occupational therapist, my expertise lies in my ability to enable people to achieve a full and satisfying life through the use of meaningful activities or “occupations.” I consider an individuals physical, psychological, social and environmental needs when creating a strategy to help a person participate in their desired daily occupations to their maximum potential. My goal is to promote health, wellness and balance. For pelvic pain sufferers, this may seem like an impossible feat. The thought of not being able to maintain an active lifestyle can be very disheartening. I want to restore hope to pelvic pain sufferers that they CAN be active and perform enjoyable activities even in the midst of struggles.

With my training as an occupational therapist and certified pilates instructor, I believe pelvic pain sufferers through the art of modification and unique positioning techniques can experience the popular fitness trend of pilates. 

Specialists in the field of pelvic floor dysfunction and rehabilitation often view pilates as counter-productive for pelvic pain sufferers. The pelvic floor musculature in many of these patients is already in a state of increased tension and some people may even experience involuntary contractions or spasms. Traditional pilates focuses on prolonged intra-abdominal pressure and engagement of the pelvic floor muscles. This type of exercise could place further stress on the already over-taxed pelvic floor muscles resulting in a person experiencing an increase in symptoms.

This concept was instrumental when choreographing the sequences for the New Dawn Pilates series. Rather than creating material with such a large emphasis on “core stability, ” I chose to center each workout on the fundamental pilates principles of breath linking to movement, flow, concentration and utilizing proper body mechanics during the exercises. Infused with the unique elements of positioning techniques, intermittent stretches, on-screen prompts to alert the user of more difficult exercises and special DVD options to customize the workout, pilates can be suitable to pelvic pain sufferers! Knowing that pelvic pain sufferers have a very diverse group of needs, we have also created an online community to support one another in our journey to stay healthy, share exercise ideas and post comments and suggestions. We encourage you to join our community and post ideas and in the forum as well.

Thank you so much for your interest in New Dawn Pilates!  I hope you consider us when trying to recommend safe exercise programs for your patients.

Sincerely, Jenny Lelwica Buttaccio
               Owner, New Dawn Pilates