Page 321 - Total War on PTSD

my sciatic pain was coming from tight muscles in my hips, and when I worked to release those muscles, the pain went away.
Using springs instead of hand weights or machines has its own set of benefits. When I would lift weights, it would almost always cause knee pain. I wanted to lift more, progressed slowly, but pain was a consistent roadblock. When I started working with the Pilates equipment, however, I could increase the resistance and not feel pain. This has strengthened my muscles and joints so that my knees are better supported and my pain is practically non-existent. As referenced in the study by Natour, Cazotti, Ribiero, Baptista, and Jones (2015), it is proven that people who practice Pilates feel less pain, take less anti-inflammatory medication, and even have an increased quality of life (p. 65).
Third, release of stored energy. Pilates is physically challenging and requires precision. Once I started practicing regularly, the pregnancy weight finally came off because I was building a lot of lean muscle. No matter your size, gender, or goal, Pilates will increase your muscle tone and connection to other essential bodily systems like fascia. Fascia is connected to muscle, and is the sheath that surrounds muscles, like a vacuum sealed bag that holds muscles and muscle groups together. There are many reasons to connect to facia, including increasing flexibility, neuroplasticity, and functional movement. Pilates has not only helped me get stronger and leaner but has helped me correct poor posture and movement patterns that were the root of many of my physical ailments. It is, from what I know, the original method of functional exercise.
Another important part of the release of stored energy is the connection that mental pain has to physical pain in the body. In recent decades psychologists have well documented studies that prove emotional pain can manifest as physical pain. While everyone is different, we understand that PTSD is a great deal of emotional pain that is carried long term. At the very least, PTSD symptoms can cause tightness in the muscles because of anxiousness, and even more physical pain, especially in the areas in which the person was traumatized (Meltzer-Brody, et al., 2007, p. 905). I mentioned earlier that the muscles in my hips are chronically tight. It’s no surprise that my hips are tight and have developed
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