You’ve got to love the scaremongering of newspapers, its the only way they sell! But I just want to put your mind at ease if you’ve recently read the rubbish article in the daily mail about planks causing injuries! Quite a few of my clients have brought up this article in class so I thought it needed clarifying.

Firstly the article and the consultant have absolutely no scientific evidence to back up the claims and secondly the plank isn’t  held for that length of time in any pilates class I have ever taught or attended.

The plank position is part of the leg pull exercise, as mentioned by Lynn Robinson in the article and is perfectly safe. The exercise is controlled by breath and an abdominal contraction with supports the spine throughout the movement. The plank will be held for a maximum of 3-5 seconds depending on the breath of the participant before returning back to the knee hoover position to lower the knees to an all fours position. The breath expands the rib cage laterally which naturally reduces any strain on the intercostal muscles and surrounding joints. You can feel this yourself by placing your hands onto your rib cage and taking a soft breath in through the nose and filling into the lungs, you will feel the rib cage expand and your hands move further apart, this is lateral breathing taught in pilates.  Now try placing your hands so your fingers meet at the joint of your ribs and breastbone and hold your breath, you should feel there is tension in the muscles at this joint , this is where Lisa Brinkworth has possibly gone wrong and caused herself damage, she has more than likely held her breath when holding the plank rather than using the correct pilates breathing to prevent this tension. Joseph Pilates named breath as one of his 6 key principles of pilates due to its importance in movement and stabilisation, not using the correct breathing can have a big impact on how the movement is performed and its effectiveness. Correct technique and alignment of the exercise will also play a big part in injury prevention and a good teacher will always correct with a hands on approach to ensure optimal positioning. Progressions are always taught in pilates with modifications offered for those not yet ready for the more advanced exercises. If you have any questions on this or pilates please get in touch, and remember don’t believe everything you read in the paper!