Jess Hardiman
A woman was left with horrific injuries after her Pilates machine malfunctioned during a class, leaving her in ‘excruciating’ pain.
Grandma Philippa Younger had started doing Pilates to help with the headaches she was suffering from shoulder and neck pain – brought on by sitting behind a desk for hours.
While the exercise seemed to be doing the trick to get rid of the headaches, her relief turned out to be short-lived as the reformer Pilates machine she was using broke in the middle of a class last September.
One of the springs holding the machine’s platform snapped, leaving her on her tummy ‘inside the reformer’ as she suffered three tears of the tendons in her right shoulder.
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Younger required surgery to stitch the tendons back together, but the road to recovery is still ongoing, some five months on.
“The pain subsequent to (the accident) has varied from not very nice to excruciating,” she told 7News, saying she was unable to work or drive for several weeks.
“It’s been a really, really long and hard journey,” Younger said.
“It has had a big impact on (my) life.”
There are growing concerns about unchecked Pilates equipment and underqualified teachers as it is an unregulated industry, meaning anyone is able to open a studio.
Robyn Pix, President of Pilates Association Australia, said she had heard many reports of injuries amid the boom in Pilates.
“When I opened my studio back in 2010 there weren’t that many around, but now there’s a lot more,” the told the Australian news outlet.
“(I’ve heard of) people falling off the reformers (and) breaking their arms, breaking their legs,” she said.
“I’ve heard of people having their front teeth knocked out.”
Younger is now calling for people to be ‘vigilant’ with their equipment, saying: “From the perspective of a client, you need to be able to make sure that you’re going to the right sort of studio, one that you can trust,” she said.
“From a provider’s perspective they need to be vigilant I think in making sure their equipment is spot on the whole time.”
However, she’s keen to get back into the practice, believing it will help her in the long run as she continues to recover.
“Pilates is definitely something that I want to go back to,” Younger added.