Is Pilates Good for a Slipped Disc? A Pilates Teacher Explains

The short answer: For many people, yes. Once a doctor or physiotherapist has cleared you for exercise, Pilates can help you rebuild strength and confidence after a slipped or herniated disc. But it works best when it’s tailored to how your body moves, and when it trains your whole trunk, not just your abs.

“I’ve been told I have a slipped disc. Can I still exercise? Will Pilates make it worse?”

This one of the questions I hear from new students newly diagnosed. A slipped disc diagnosis can feel frightening. Suddenly, everything you used to do without thinking (bending, lifting, even sitting) feels risky.

Here’s what I’ve learnt from working with clients with disc problems.

What is a slipped disc?

Between each of the bones in your spine sits a disc: a tough outer ring with a softer, gel-like centre. It acts as a cushion and lets your spine bend and twist.

A “slipped disc” doesn’t actually slip out of place. The term usually describes a disc that bulges or herniates, where part of the softer centre pushes outwards. If it presses on a nearby nerve, you might feel pain, numbness or tingling travelling down your leg. That’s often called sciatica.

The reassuring part is that many disc problems settle with time and the right kind of movement, even without surgery. Your doctor or physio is the right person to tell you what’s going on in your case.

When should you see a doctor before doing Pilates?

Pilates teachers don’t diagnose back pain. Please see a doctor or physiotherapist first if:

• Your pain is new and severe, or getting steadily worse
• You have numbness, tingling or weakness in your leg that’s spreading or worsening
• You’ve recently had back surgery or been given specific restrictions
• You don’t know what’s causing your pain

Get medical help urgently if you have numbness around your groin or inner thighs, new problems controlling your bladder or bowels, or weakness in both legs. These can signal a rare but serious condition that needs immediate attention.

Can you be strong and still get a slipped disc?

Absolutely. One of my clients was a firefighter. He’d trained hard his whole working life, and extreme training was simply normal for him. If anyone was going to have a strong core, you’d think it was him.

Then he was diagnosed with a slipped disc.

In our sessions, we looked at what all that training had actually built. It turned out he had been strengthening almost exclusively his front abdominals: the six-pack muscles. His obliques, along the sides of his trunk, and the muscles along his spine that extend his back had been largely neglected for years.

He was genuinely shocked. In his mind, he’d been training his core the whole time.

But it made sense once he understood the mechanics and the logic behind his pain. It was not that his trunk was weak. It was unbalanced. One side of the system had been trained for years while the other sides were left behind.

Why isn’t “strengthen your core” enough for a slipped disc?

When most people hear “core,” they picture the six-pack. So they do crunches, sit-ups and front planks.

But your core is your whole trunk: the front, the sides and the back. It works like a cylinder around your spine. If the front is strong but the sides and back are weak, the support around your spine is uneven, and some parts of it take more stress than others.

Spine researcher Dr Stuart McGill has written about this extensively. Someone who is evenly weak can actually be less prone to back problems than someone who is strong at the front and weak at the sides and back.

I wrote more about this in The Overlooked, Undertrained Parts of the Core.

There’s a second issue too. Many classic ab exercises, like crunches, repeatedly round the spine forwards. For someone recovering from a disc problem, that’s often not where to start.

How does Pilates help with a slipped disc?

Pilates isn’t a magic cure, and no single exercise fixes a disc. What makes it useful is how adaptable it is. Here’s how we approach it at Pilates BodyTree:

1. We assess first. We look at how your spine, hips and trunk move, which muscles are overworking, which are underused, and what movements you’ve been avoiding.
2. We find movements you can do without fear. We can change the position, reduce the range, add support from the equipment or slow things down. The goal is an early win: “Oh, I can actually do this.”
3. We balance the trunk. Like with my firefighter client, that often means training the sides and back, not just the front, so the spine has even support all around.
4. We build up gradually. As your capacity grows, we add load, range and complexity, so you’re ready for daily life, work or sport again.

That last part matters. After a disc injury, many people become so careful that they stop moving altogether. Fear and avoidance can keep the pain cycle going. Part of our job is helping you trust your back again.

Should I see a physio or do Pilates for a slipped disc?

Often, both, at different stages.

Your physiotherapist diagnoses and treats the injury, especially in the early, painful phase. Pilates comes in once you’ve been cleared for exercise, to rebuild strength, control and confidence.

Many of our clients come to us right after physio discharge. They’ve been told they can return to exercise, but they don’t feel ready. That gap, between “my injury doesn’t need treatment anymore” and “I trust my back to do everything again,” is exactly where we work. We’re happy to coordinate with your local physiotherapist.

How do I start Pilates for a slipped disc in Singapore?

If you’re dealing with a disc problem, I’d recommend starting one-to-one Pilates. That way, your teacher can adapt every exercise to you.

At Pilates BodyTree, you can start with:

• A Mobility Fitness Assessment, if you want to understand what your body needs first
• Personalised Rehab PT, if you’re focused on recovering from your injury

We have studios at Chinatown Point, Orchard (Far East Shopping Centre) and United Square in Novena.

Questions I often get asked