Two years ago, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t take a shower or pull up my trousers. At least not without a lot of pain. I had been a shell of myself since I tore my right rotator cuff in 2021 while throwing a ball for my daughter’s dog. The rotator cuff is the group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint. It was easier to stay home because picking up a coffee could make me cry out in pain. I did this a lot.
It wasn’t always like this. Before the injury, I went to the gym five or six times a week to lift light weights. I’ve been doing this for thirty years. After the injury, I couldn’t wait to move my body again. After a month of rest as the doctor told me to, I couldn’t wait to start my daily physiotherapy. But even though I was very careful with moves like resistance band pulls and lateral raises to make my shoulder muscles stronger, I still had to take the most paracetamol and ibuprofen I could to get through each day.
Pilates in London with Exhale
The first step back to myself was when my daughter gave me a gift card for a classical reformer Pilates class. She made me two one-on-one appointments at Exhale Pilates London because she had heard that the practice could help people heal from injuries. In the end, it only took one to convince me that I had found the thing that would make me feel better overall. After that first 50 minute session, my pain was only a little better, but I felt better overall.
Exhale Pilates in London
I could lay on my right arm again after four sessions. After a year of going twice a week, my pain went from being unbearable to being almost a one out of ten. I feel 30 years younger after two years, and I owe my recovery entirely to classical reformer Pilates. That doesn’t mean it was always easy. If you push the pain too far, you might get worse. If you stop all activity you will get stiffer. My teachers who have all had 600 hours of training help me find my sweet spot by giving me modifications like lowering my range of motion when I raise my arms over my head.
Exhale Pilates in London
I still do Pilates once a week. I also do 30 minutes of strength training every morning which includes squats, sit-ups, and a one minute plank. I also walk at least 6,500 steps every day. I’m thankful that I can lift weights and walk easily again, but I don’t take the small things for granted anymore I can put on my own shoes get dressed and enjoy life without pain.
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I expect to stop taking my blood pressure medicine soon because it has dropped a lot over the past five years. At 72 the only tablets I take are a magnesium and vitamin D supplement. A healthy diet helps breakfast could be yoghurt and fruit lunch could be a protein shake and dinner could be fish, rice and vegetables but Pilates has helped me in more ways than just easing my pain and building my muscles. I’ll do it for the rest of my life.
