The Pilates Movement and Performance Screen

The Pilates Movement & Performance Screen (MPS) is a unique and simple screening and retraining process that evaluates uncontrolled movement in individuals of all ages and abilities. It provides a quick and effective method to find areas of uncontrolled and weak links within the Pilates framework.

Course Outline

A movement assessment and performance training course to help you:

• Predict a client’s key injury risk
• Identify movement faults
• Design an individual stability and performance retraining programme within the pilates framework

A movement analysis system will be presented which will identify uncontrolled movement and four elements of testing will be explored:

• Pilates specific skills testing linked to injury risk and performance deficits
• Restrictions that cause compensatory movements that are linked to injury risk and performance consistency issues
• High threshold core strength testing linked to load or speed related injuries and performance enhancement
• Low threshold motor coordination testing linked to injury recurrence and injury associated with unguarded incidents

With the result of these tests the Pilates teacher will be able to adapt their knowledge of Pilates principles and repertoire to retrain faulty movement patterning identified by the tests. This will enable the teacher to deliver a programme of Pilates which is specific to each individual.

This course will enable you to Use Pilates to its Full Potential in health and performance screening and retraining:

Evidence: current musculoskeletal screening programmes do not predict or prevent re-injury in sport

What’s missing: testing functional movements to identify uncontrolled movement (weak links) with multi-joint action

Assessing function: the site and direction of uncontrolled movement

Evaluating: movement control in both low threshold and high threshold situations.

Functional testing and retraining form part of the syllabus. The course fee includes a licence for The Pilates Matrix assessment screen.

Audience

The Pilates MPS is suitable for Pilates teachers, Pilates trained rehabilitation professionals and Physiotherapists with a working knowledge of Pilates who want to use Pilates in clinical practice. An understanding of anatomy and physiology is strongly recommended for these courses.

Key Features

• Identification of the site and direction of uncontrolled movement
• Presentation of 5 x low threshold tests that identify the site and direction of uncontrolled movement
• Presentation of 5 x high threshold tests that identify the site and direction of uncontrolled movement
• Presentation of 5 x Pilates specific tests that identify the site and direction of uncontrolled movement
• Presentation of 5 x restriction tests that identify restrictions linked to uncontrolled movement
• Outline of different muscle stability and mobility roles
• Teaches the difference between low and high threshold recruitment and develops strategies to test for low and high threshold problems
• Examination of the relationship between restriction and compensation
• Presentation of the online system screening tool and profile
• Presentation of basic principles of low and high threshold retraining of uncontrolled movement
• Implementation and application of these strategies of retaining control of ‘high risk’ weak links

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course the student should be able to:

• Apply a simple but effective movement and core stability assessment system to identify weak links related to potential performance deficits and to highlight potential injury risk
• Design a tailored individual retraining program to enhance Pilates performance and reduce risk of injury
• Adapt Pilates repertoire to retrain individual weak links

For those working in a clinical environment, this programme will enable you to design a retraining programme for a client with a recent or recurring injury who has been referred to you or assessed by you for movement retraining

Programme Outline

• Presentation and application of The Pilates Matrix to assess for ‘weak links’ in the functional performance chain.

• Discussion of key concepts in stability assessment and retraining
  • muscle functional roles
  • low and high threshold recruitment
  • recruitment dysfunction and inhibition
  • restriction and compensation/relative flexibility
  • uncontrolled movement

• Understanding the neutral training region.
• Discussion of global stability muscles that are relevant in retraining core stability.
• The principles and application of ‘direction dissociation’  and ‘range control’ as strategies to retrain control of low threshold weak links and how muscle force efficiency is influenced by the principles of range control.
• The principles and application of high load core strength training strategies to progress low threshold motor control stability training into high threshold core strengthening, using functional activities, increasing resistance and decreasing external stability.
• The use of assessment to design a client-specific exercise programme considering weak links and assets.
• The use of The Pilates Matrix to ‘predict’ an athlete’s injury risk.
• Discussion of the term ‘core stability’ and presentation of a new model.