Face to face Pilates is coming back.

I am planning the relaunch of face to face Pilates classes, starting next week, 14th September and running from Kingswells Community Centre on Monday evenings and Tuesday afternoons.

I have been pretty overwhelmed with the response to the classes, as they are all fully booked.

Pilates at Kingswells Community Centre, pre COVID19

To minimise the risk of COVID19 transmission I have developed risk assessments for the classes, which will see some changes to how they run, including;

• Reduced class numbers (a positive!) to allow for 2m between mats

• Face masks are to be worn while moving through the building to the class

• I will be teaching from the front of the class, and giving verbal corrections/cues.

• There will be bigger changeover times between classes to allow for cleaning and ventilation, so some classes may be a little shorter.

• COVID19 screening questionnaires will be emailed out for completion prior to each class.

I have emailed full information to everyone that has expressed an interest in the classes.

I am delighted to be keeping Antenatal pilates running virtually, along with mixed ability matwork classes on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.

MSK Therapy and Sports injury Clinic

I have been so busy since I returned to face to face Physiotherapy that I haven’t had a chance to update the website until now. I have been running clinics on Saturdays from The Little Clinic, and these have been consistently fully booked.

I am delighted to now be able to offer appointments on alternate Fridays from MSK Therapy and Sports injury clinic, in Altens. I have worked with Jayne Ritchie, the owner, previously and the clinic has long been my go to for Sports massage. It was lovely to see a friendly face at work last Friday. Appointments are available to book through the ‘book now’ tab.

Although Aberdeen remains under tighter lockdown restrictions than other parts of Scotland, travel for Physiotherapy appointments is still possible where appropriate. I continue to contact all new patients by telephone prior to their appointment to assess whether a face to face/virtual appointment is appropriate, in line with guidance from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

Face to face physiotherapy

I’ve had a lovely couple of weeks off after working continuously since lock down started, so i’m back to work refreshed and planning some exciting things.

I have been back to face to face Physiotherapy for two Saturdays now and have been delighted to have full clinics for both, with a combination of face to face and virtual appointments. I am continuing to follow a COVID 19 protocol which can be found here.

Appointments for The Mummy MOT have been proving really popular. It’s great to see so many women keen to find out more about how their postnatal body is working and how to improve on any issues eg tummy gap, pelvic floor weakness.

Online Pilates classes are continuing but I am also working on a return to real life Pilates classes at Kingswells Community Centre. There is no date for this yet, but I aim to have my risk assessments completed and agreed by the community centre so classes can get back up and running as soon as the government gives the go ahead.

Reopening clinic and the introduction of The Mummy MOT

It’s been a busy few weeks here at reformPhysio & Pilates. My diary has been getting increasingly busy with online appointments, Pilates classes are filling up and Antenatal Pilates has launched.

I am returning to work at The Little Clinic on Countesswells Road, on Saturday 11th of July. I have prepared my PPE and am screening all patients before appointments, to ensure that face to face appointments are appropriate. You can read more about reformPhysio & Pilates COVID19 policy here. Hopefully I will be able to reintroduce online booking soon.

As well as returning to face to face practice I am now able to offer The Mummy MOT. I had originally been due to complete the training for this in March but coronavirus stopped that. Fortunately the brilliant Mummy MOT team have taken their training online and I spent the weekend improving my knowledge of all things Postnatal Physio. There was some brilliant pelvic floor anatomy, discussions around diastasis and a really tough postnatal rehab session! Many countries in Europe offer postnatal Physiotherapy as standard, so it’s brilliant to be able to offer this excellent service to Aberdeen and shire.

Stay safe and well, remember your face masks If you’re heading to the shops and I look forward to seeing you in the clinic or Pilates class soon.

Laura

Knee Osteoarthritis

Did you know up to 18% of the over 45 population has osteoarthritis of the knee?

Osteoarthritis usually develops slowly and is characterised by periodic flare ups of pain, where pain/swelling may increase.

Physiotherapy has a significant role in the management of flare ups of osteoarthritis. Exercising regularly can significantly impact the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Strengthening the muscles of the thigh can reduce some of the load going through the painful knee join, thus decreasing pain/increasing function.

The video below shows three simple exercises that can be carried out at home with no equipment.

Please get in touch if you have any questions, or would like to make an appointment for individualised advice.

Antenatal Pilates

Finally, Antenatal Pilates is here!

I did my training in Antenatal and Postnatal Pilates a good few years ago and have been keen to start an antenatal class ever since. Unfortunately I’ve never been able to find a time that worked, as I had limited evenings that I could get out to work or find available studio space and most antenatal women are working or have children with them through the day.

So, the arrival of COVID-19 and online classes, has had a tiny silver lining after all! As I don’t need to leave the comfort of my own home, I am now able to launch Antenatal Physio led Pilates classes on a Monday evening 7-7.50pm.

During these classes, we will concentrate on maintaining strength, mobility and flexibility as well as improving pelvic floor awareness and strength. It’s also a great way for mums to be to meet each other.

I can’t wait to start these classes on Monday 22nd June.

And a wee note, these classes are open to women anywhere, not just here in Aberdeen. It is wonderful to be able to reach women all over the world with virtual classes.

Covid-19 Service update

I’ve been a little quiet about a return to face:face work. This is because there is just so much to consider, with policies from my professional body, the CSP, and the Scottish government to follow to ensure you are all kept as safe as possible. School being out and a lack of childcare also complicates the planning a little at the moment.

I think we are some weeks away from being able to offer ‘real life’ appointments, but once we get the go ahead, I will be ready! 

There will be a lot of changes to how face:face practice will run, but I will keep you updated with all these practicalities as I plan to reopen. 

My understanding of the current guidance is that virtual appointments should be used as a screening tool for everyone initially & face to face appointments will then be offered if required and once Covid 19 screening is completed. 

If you have any physio concerns, please don’t put them off until we are back to ‘normal’, embrace the virtual appointments as they are going to be with us for a little while.

Online Pilates class bookings

To streamline online booking, Pilates class bookings and payments will be moving here to our website. You can book in now via the ‘Book Online’ tab, for classes starting the week of 8/6/20.

This system will mean classes are easy to find and book on a pay as you go basis. Unfortunately you won’t be able to book multiple classes at a time (yet!).

I’ve attached a video to demonstrate the ease of the new system.

Pelvic floor & Prosecco event

This week saw me run reformPhysio & Pilates’ first online Pelvic floor & Prosecco event. This was something I have had in mind for a long time, probably a couple of years. The original idea was to run a real life evening session where women could be educated on the Pelvic floor and relax with a glass of Prosecco. With the current lockdown, I decided to take the evening online and ran it as a Zoom event.

I told some of my own pelvic health story, followed by a scoot through pelvic floor anatomy, function and dysfunction. We covered areas including incontinence, pelvic pain and prolapse. We talked about when to seek help and who from as well as what actually happens in a women’s health appointment.

We finished up with some pelvic floor and core exercises and a chat about some of the current technologies available to help the pelvic floor.

I really enjoyed the evening and look forward to leading more. If you are interested in attending another event or are part of a group of women that you think would be interested in a personalised event, please get in touch.

Stretching

I hope this update finds everyone safe and well.

It’s been busy here continuing with online Pilates classes and Physiotherapy appointments.

As so many of us have had changes in our routines recently, I decided to post some videos outlining simple lower and upper back stretches along with simple neck stretches, to try and keep people mobile and comfortable. I’ve been amazed at the response to the videos, with over 1.7k views of the back stretching clip.

I’ve put all the videos together for you here, I hope you find them useful.

Laura