It’s been over 200 years since James Parkinson wrote ‘An Essay on the Shaking Palsy’, which is considered the first medical documentation of a condition affecting the brain that we now call Parkinson’s Disease. For most people the cause is unknown (idiopathic Parkinson’s) but it often affects one side of the body first and it’s […]

With the number of jobs now requiring a substantial amount of computer work, it’s no wonder that so many of us end up feeling ‘chair shaped’ at the end of a working day. Pilates is a great way to improve the flexibility of your muscles and the mobility of your joints. Regular practice not only […]

Your hip flexors are a group of muscles found deep at the front of your hips, attaching your spine to your thigh bones. They work to bend your hips and help lift up your legs when you move around. If you spend a lot of time sitting during your day – commuting to and from […]

If it’s crossed your mind that you might be the only man in your pilates class, then think again! With the likes of Andy Murray, the All Blacks and Tiger Woods all using pilates as part of their training, there has been a definite rise in the number of men attending pilates classes and the […]

If you listen closely during a Pilates class you might hear a faint ‘pop’ or ‘click’ every now and again. This noise is most likely coming from someone’s hip. It’s very common to find that one of your hips clicks or pops with certain movements, particularly when you are lowering your leg from a raised […]

There’s no such thing as the ‘perfect posture’ …  no one set way that we as individuals should all be aiming to stand or sit that’s been scientifically proven to prevent pain. Indeed, we are all different and just like having blue eyes or brown hair, some people are born with tight hamstrings or a […]

Take care of your knees and they’ll help you get up off the floor, walk downstairs, balance on uneven ground and walk for miles without pain. It’s not all about muscle strength either … in fact, that’s only one part of the picture. Flexibility, good control of the way you move and balance are all […]

Following on from our last blog post about the most effective stretches for your hips … this week we’re focusing on the best exercises to strengthen the muscles the support and control your hip movement. Weak, buttock muscles can contribute to lots of different painful hip and leg conditions, so here are our favourite exercises […]

Lots of painful conditions around the hips can be improved with an effective exercise programme to improve flexibility in your hips joints. Try our healthy hips stretching routine … we’d recommend working on it at least three times per week. Hold the stretches for at least 30 seconds on each side and complete the whole […]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis affecting our joints. It’s sometimes called ‘wear and tear’ arthritis but I think this is a misnomer as joint wear is a normal consequence of daily activity. Osteoarthritis actually develops when our joint repair processes are insufficient to cope with the stresses and strains passing through […]