Lise Stolze is a physical therapist and certified scoliosis therapist through the Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School / Schroth Barcelona Institute and through the Italian Scientific Institute for the Spine (ISICO). Her research on low back pain and Pilates has been published in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. She is a certified Pilates instructor through the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) and serves on its research committee. Lise is a principal educator for Polestar Pilates Education and is co-creator of the course Pilates Adaptations for Scoliosis Supporting the Teachings of the Schroth Method. She owns Stolze Therapies in Denver, Colorado.
Join Lise in her upcoming continuing education course: Pilates Adaptations for People with Scoliosis Supporting the Teachings of the Schroth Method in Allen, TX: March 27-29, 2020
Polestar: What do you love about teaching? Where and which whom did you take your training?
LS: Pilates was a new term to me when I first read an ad for a teacher training at The Pilates Center in 1994. The ad looked intriguing and the weekend module proved to be my first continuing education course as a new PT. I was thoroughly impressed by the insight into human movement provided by the instructor, Amy Taylor Alpers. My formal Pilates training began with Barbara Huttner, a protégé of Ron Fletcher in 1995 and continued with Brent Anderson and Elizabeth Larkam in the early days of Polestar Education. The Polestar training provided the explicit link between movement education and rehabilitation and the language that allowed clear communication with other health care providers about Pilates as a PT intervention. Dav Cohen and I became Polestar’s first second generation educators in 1999. Pilates has informed my physical therapy practice from those early days in my career and has inspired me to reach out for education and certifications in other forms of intelligent movement such as Gyrotonic® and Yoga. I still hope there will be a Feldenkrais training in my future!
Polestar: What are your current inspirations?
LS: I had a deep curiosity of scoliosis since those early days as a PT and read about the Schroth Method long before I became a certified Schroth specialist. The investment of time and money seemed too much for such a specialty population and I resisted taking the plunge until 2014. During my first C1 course with the Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School (BSPTS), I realized that this was another “intelligent movement” intervention and that it shared many basic principles with Pilates. I have now participated in the C1 and C2 courses several times including recently in Barcelona with Dr. Rigo, the founder of the BSPTS. The Scientific Exercises Approach to Scoliosis (SEAS) training is the Italian answer to the Schroth Method and specializes in practical and functional approaches to treating scoliosis. I am currently inspired by the advance of information and research in the area of conservative management of scoliosis. I encourage anyone who is interested in scoliosis to attend The International Scientific Society on Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT) conference, which is a platform for the latest research in conservative care of scoliosis. The conference will be hosted in San Francisco this year – the first time in the US since 2013.
Polestar: What are you reading or learning about?
LS: I am currently collaborating on research that will help clarify which adult scoliosis clients require specific exercise modifications based on a broad range of clinical and radiological measures. These guidelines were developed to inform exercise specialists, physical therapists and the adult population with scoliosis. I will be presenting these guidelines at this year’s SOSORT conference in San Francisco. Hagit Berdishevsky and I highlight this information in our course: Pilates Adaptations for People with Scoliosis Supporting the Teachings of the Schroth Method. The goal is to publish the guidelines so that the information can reach a broader public audience.
Join Lise in her upcoming continuing education course: Pilates Adaptations for People with Scoliosis Supporting the Teachings of the Schroth Method in Allen, TX March 27-29, 2020
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