Master Pilates Instructor, studio owner, and author, Karena Thek, travels internationally training Pilates Instructors and Physical Therapists. In fact, check her schedule, she may be in your neighborhood soon!
Karena is the author of OsteoPilates (2003), ScolioPilates (2011) and The Pilates Golf Athlete (2014). She is currently working on her next book project, Neuro-Pilates® and is accepting volunteers with neurological disorders for case studies in preparation for the book.
Currently, her favorite teaching project is volunteering with the Wounded Warrior Battalion at the C5 Unit (Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care) at the San Diego Naval Medical Center. Working with the soldiers returning from war proves to be a constant source of inspiration and challenge.
Hi Karena, a quick cue question on the K-wedge exercise. When you inhale to reach the arms and legs is the forehead resting on the floor (with neck long) until you exhale and reach up? Thank you - love the lengthening work!
i love the spine lengthening exercises. Do you have any suggestion on exercises to lengthen and strengthen the spine with out raising the am above shoulder level? One of my clients has S-curve scoliosis but also a rotator cuff tear..so having a hard time finding spine lengthening exercises with her shoulder limitation. ?? Thank you
Hi Karena, I have a mild s curve scoliosis exactly the opposite of you. How many times a day would you recommend these stretches? Will 2-3 times (at least morning and night ) be too much? Currently I am having SI joint pain and hoping these might alleviate it
Thank you for posting this because I am dealing with levoscoliosis thoracic and dextroscoliosis in lumbar spine. I broke my t12 thoracic spine a compression fracture a year ago. I am struggling to use my Pilates reformer because I realized I have to start at beginner level exercise again. I just can’t do my old routine because it was intermediate to advanced and I lost muscle mass, strength, and flexibility and I am in severe pain because i gained weight because I could not exercise for 2 years. I had long haul covid all of 2021 before i broke my spine. Can you do a beginner level routine to start out with and tell me exercises to avoid doing with these 2 forms of scoliosis. I also have a 3 mm pelvic tilt from this fall too.
My right hip sticks out. My right foot turns in, and I was told that I have a retroverted femur making internal rotation difficult (based on Craig's Test). So, I'm not sure what to make for this. I was wondering if the scoliosis hadn't caused the problem with the femur.
I have an indentation on my right side, above my right hip, and a bump in rib above. S-Curve The lower left side of my spine has the sand dune. However, my right hip protrudes and comes forward. I always thought that I should lie on left side, but with the protruding hip, on the right, should I lie on my right side?
I have a hump on my right rib, then the lower back is concave, but the right hip protrudes, and when I sit, it comes up. Should I put the wedge under the hip that I guess also goes back, the convex side that's more stretched and fibrous? It sounds like you're talking about the left hip protruding.
Thank you SO very much for this! I've been trying to get help for many years and have spent all my money and more. It's too expensive to do online stuff and I can't afford it now. This is super helpful, the way you describe it. So nice of you to do this!!
Wow thank you I am 60 year old last august and no one, doctor or pt bothered to explain this. I get it, but still! I have a Cobb measurement of 35 just measured by a new primary it just shows I had to ask him to do it and also refer me to the only Schroth method in this area is mukilteo, Washington! Still 25 miles from me!
You put the lift under your same hip that was coming forward. On me, my convexity is on the left, yet my right hip is the one that goes forward. Should I put the lift under my convex side or under the hip that sticks out in front? I'm new to learning about my scoliosis and a lot of it is confusing and or counterintuitive. Thank you.
Hello, Caro, These are our Scolio-Wedges that we make. They are designed to be the most effective for encouraging our curves towards center and it just so happens they are also more comfortable than most wedges for scoliosis. You can find them here: osteopilates.com/product/scolio-wedges-for-scolio-pilates/ Thank you, for stopping by our page!
Are there any springs on the carriage? Are you using a sticky pad under him to keep the box from siding out from under him? Looks like a great stretch, cannot wait to try it out.
Hello Karen, thank you so much for this video. I have severe scoliosis and had two spinal fusions with screws and harrington rods. After having severe asthmatic bronchitis in 2020, I struggle alot with a restricted feeling when I inhale and I have some shortness of breath for a year now. I was told for the first time by a pulmonologist that I have restrictive lung disease because of my scoliosis. I am really struggling with the restricted feeling especially underneath my throat as my wind pipe is skew and curved because of the scoliosis. The pulmonologist said that my body should find the equilibrium it had for years and years before I got ill in 2020. I still don't feel normal as I used to and the Dr recommended anti depressants to keep my stress levels down especially in this time. I did check in with my back specialist and he said he can't see that anything has gotten worse in terms of my ribs or the curve. You are literally the first person that I can relate to and knows what I am feeling. Do you have any advice on how I can improve this restrictive feeling?
Hello, Kim, I'm sorry that I didn't see you message before today. I am also sorry that you are experiencing trouble since you had bronchitis in 2020. With scoliosis, as you know, our breathing can become a part of our scoliosis history and can become a problem. Improving pulmonary function is a common reason for surgery for those with scoliosis. I hope that you are feeling much better by now, but please don't hesitate to reach out to me if I can answer questions for you or if you'd like to set up an appointment: karena@osteopilates.com
I have been told I have a c curve to the left caused by degenerative scholliosis which has been caused by vertibral fractures, I am only 51.Is there anything I can do to stop it getting worse.Will sitting for long periods make it worse?.
HI, Michael, I am sorry that your C-curve was made worse by the vertebral fractures. Sitting is, unfortunately, not healthy for any of us. They call sitting the "new smoking". I hope that you can find ways to stay active and that your back pain is improving greatly.
Reading some theories on scoliosis, I'm not convinced it primarily develops as a result of functional and repetitive movement. The theory that resonates the most with me is one where there's uneven developmental length of the spinal cord to the surrounding vertebrae. As a result, meningeal ligamentous attachments from the spinal cord to the vertebral canal create torsional forces within the entire spine. Over time this will create the curvature to help alleviate those forces. It's easy to imagine an extended spring inside a flexible tube attached to the inside of the tube at various points. The tension created by the spring would naturally contort the tube. I understand this is a theory(not mine, but unfortunately I don't recall the person/people to credit for it). The reason this theory makes the most sense to me is the general consistency of scoliotic curvatures patterns. If it was more related to functional movement I would think there would be more variety of curvature patterns.
