Clinical exercise: a quick guide

What is clinical exercise?

Clinical exercise is a form of physical exercise that combines traditional rehabilitation exercises with Pilates-inspired movements.

It is typically delivered by physiotherapists and focuses on improving posture, core stability, balance, control, strength, flexibility, and healthy breathing mechanics.

At Lifecare Frankston, we hold classes daily, supervised by an experienced physiotherapist to ensure correct form and guide appropriate exercise prescription and dosage.

How is clinical exercise delivered by physiotherapists?

Our Physiotherapists at Lifecare Frankston use specialised apparatus such as the Reformer, Wunda chair, and trapeze tables to tailor exercises to individual needs and abilities.

These sessions may be conducted individually or in small groups, ensuring a supportive and personalised environment.

An initial assessment is required to determine the best exercise pathway for each individual and their specific needs.

Benefits of Pilates and clinical exercise

Clinical exercise and Pilates offer numerous benefits, including:

• Improved core strength: Clinical exercise emphasises core strength, which is crucial for overall stability and injury prevention.
• Enhanced flexibility: Frequent movement through full range can increase flexibility and range of motion.
• Improved posture control: Clinical exercise helps train the body to maintain proper alignment and posture.
• Injury prevention: By strengthening muscles and improving balance, clinical exercise can help prevent injuries.
• Pain management: Clinical exercise is often used as a rehabilitation tool to alleviate back and hip pain.

How clinical exercise assists with prehabilitation, rehabilitation, health conditions, balance and strength

Prehabilitation

Clinical exercise is used to prepare clients for surgery or other medical procedures.

By strengthening muscles, enhancing mobility, and improving cardiovascular health, prehabilitation helps reduce the physical strain that surgery places on the body, leading to quicker and more efficient recovery.

Rehabilitation

Clinical exercise is a key component of rehabilitation programs, helping clients recover from injuries, surgeries, or chronic conditions.

It aids in restoring function, improving strength, and reducing pain.

Ailments

Clinical exercise can improve a variety of health conditions, including:

• Chronic pain: Helps manage conditions like arthritis and chronic back pain.
• Cardiovascular health: Improves heart health and reduces the risk of heart disease.
• Respiratory conditions: Enhances breathing mechanics and lung capacity.
• Mental health: Reduces symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.
• Musculoskeletal health: Strengthens muscles, improves joint alignment, and increases flexibility.

Balance

Clinical exercise is particularly effective in enhancing balance.

Many of the exercises focus on stability and control, which are crucial for maintaining balance.

This is especially important for older adults who may be at risk of falls.

Improved balance can lead to increased confidence in daily activities and a higher quality of life.

Strength

Clinical exercise is an excellent way to build and maintain strength.

The resistance provided by Pilates equipment, as well as body weight exercises, targets various muscle groups.

Strengthening these muscles can help in daily activities, sports performance, and overall physical health.

It also plays a key role in injury prevention and rehabilitation by providing the necessary support and stability to joints and other structures.

Join our clinical exercise classes

At Lifecare Frankston, we offer clinical exercise classes in clinic. These sessions are designed to provide a supportive and therapeutic environment, where you can experience the benefits of clinical exercise under the guidance of our experienced physiotherapists.

In addition to group classes, we also offer 1-on-1 clinical exercise sessions with our physiotherapists.

These personalised sessions are ideal for those needing more support or guidance with exercises, allowing for a tailored treatment plan to meet your specific needs and goals.

Before booking in for these sessions, one of our experienced physiotherapists will take you for a clinical exercise assessment at our clinic – to ensure that we are tailoring a program that is specifically designed to ensure the best possible outcomes.

We also highly recommend another 1-on-1 session in our gym, where we can work through your program with you to ensure that you’re completing the exercises with the correct technique.

Visit Lifecare Frankston and discover how our clinical exercise and Pilates services can help you to achieve your health and wellness goals.

Contact us today and book your next session!

Eden Jude is a physiotherapist at Lifecare Frankston who leads several of the clinical exercise sessions offered at Lifecare Frankston. Eden has a passion for working with clients and implementing clinical exercise to assist with rehabilitation and to help improve strength, balance, function and confidence. Eden develops personalised exercise programs to assist that are tailored to suit all clients.

References

• Smith, J. A., & Brown, L. (2023). The impact of clinical exercise on chronic pain management: A systematic review. Journal of Physiotherapy Research, 45(2), 123-135.
• Johnson, M., & Davis, R. (2022). Core strength and stability: The role of clinical Pilates in rehabilitation. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(4), 289-298.
• Lee, K., & Kim, H. (2021). Benefits of Pilates for musculoskeletal health: A meta-analysis. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 18(3), 202-210.
• Patel, S., & Thompson, W. (2020). Clinical exercise interventions for chronic disease management: A review. Journal of Exercise Physiology, 23(1), 45-56.
• Williams, C., & Taylor, P. (2019). The effectiveness of clinical Pilates in improving functional movement: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 51(6), 456-465.