STOTT PILATES^® Rehab exam FAQs

Option 1
It is strongly recommended that you take your practical exams with a Rehab Instructor Trainers at our Corporate Training Center or at any of our Licensed Training Centers or Hosting Centers that offer the Rehab Program.

Option 2
If you are unable to visit one of our Corporate Training Center or any of our LTCs that offer the Rehab Program then you can submit by DVD, USB stick/key or secured link. The purpose of the practical examination is to observe you as you lead a “patient” through a workout.

The videotaped workout will be 1.5 hours for RM1 and RM2 exam, 1.5 hours for RR1 and RR2 exam, 1.5 hours for RM1 & RR1 (RMR1) exam, 2 hours for RM1, RR1, RM2 and RR2 (RMR1 and RMR2) exam, 2 hours for RM1, RR1 and RCCB1 (RMR1 and RCCB1) exam, 2 hours for RM1, RR1, RM2, RR2 and RCCB1 (RMR1, RMR2 and RCCB1) exam and 2 hours for Full Certification exam.

• Position the camera to observe a side view of the subject's body and allow for an additional three feet on either end ensuring enough room to move about. Keep the view close enough to allow details in the movement and the interaction between you and your subject
• Test the video equipment and sound level and make sure that it records properly and that your voice can be heard on the tape
• Face the camera (instruct on the far side of their subject to not obstruct the view).Camera adjustments should be performed at natural breaks in the examination process (i.e. between the postural analysis and Matwork or between the Matwork and Reformer)
• The recording should NOT be stopped at any point during the examination. The workout should be continuous
• Video editing is NOT permitted
• The use of notes or manuals is NOT permitted
• The submission must be sent in by DVD (mini DVD or DVD) and DVD must be a brand name DVD (e.g. Sony), USB stick/key or secured link

Conducting the exam
Please read all information about practical exams in this section for more details. Follow the timelines and minimum requirements outlined. State your name and the name of your exam as you start recording. The test patient must be appropriate for the required repertoire associated with your exam.

Contact our Toronto Corporate Training Center or any Licensed Training Center or Host Training Center to make arrangements to compete your exam in person.

You must take your exam within six months of completing your last STOTT PILATES Education course (this includes ISP and Functional Anatomy as they are considered STOTT PILATES education courses). Prior to booking your exam please ensure that you have completed all necessary documentation of your required Practice Teaching, Observation and Physical Review hours. You will need to submit your Logged Hours to the Instructor Trainer on your exam date (either written or practical exam). For Comprehensive Program students, your apprenticeship is also to be completed within the six months after the last course date. We encourage you to take some time afterward to practice and synthesize the information prior to taking the exam; however, you are welcome to take the exam immediately after you complete the course if you and your instructor agree you are ready.

If you have failed to meet the six-month requirement to complete your examination, you must complete private review hours with a Rehab Instructor Trainer to reinstate your eligibility. Material covered will be specific to your needs to better prepare you for the exam. The number of hours required is based on the course material that must be covered and the demands of the course repertoire.

• RM1 & RM2: 1 hour
• RR1 & RR2: 1 hour
• RM1 & RR1 (RMR1): 1 hour
• RM1 & RR1 & RM2, RR2 (RMR1 & RMR2): 1–2 hours
• RM1 & RR1 & RCCB1 (RMR1 & RCCB1): 1–2 hours
• RM1, RR1, RM2, RR2 & RCCB1 (RMR1, RMR2 and RCCB1): 2–3 hours
• Full Certification: 2–3 hours

The Instructor Trainer may recommend further privates or study as preparation.

Note, the reinstatement is valid for 60 days and will not provide the student an additional six months to complete their examination.

Exam results will be sent directly to you, typically by email. The LTC and/or Instructor Trainer that conducted the exam will also be informed of the marks. Marking takes between four to six weeks from the date of the exam. Note, exams are not returned but can be reviewed upon request.

Pass/Fail

You must receive a score of 80% in order to achieve certification. If you have to retake the exam, this should happen within six months of the date of the original exam. This ensures that the information remains relatively fresh but allows time to study and improve in the necessary areas.

If you take your exam for the first time and fail, you have one more opportunity, within six months, to successfully pass the exam. If you fail both a second time, you must wait six months before retesting.

Depending on the training and certification courses that you have completed you may choose the following exams:

• RM1 & RM2
• RR1 & RR2
• RM1 & RR1 (RMR1)
• RM1, RR1, RM2 & RR2 (RMR1 & RMR2)
• RM1, RR1, RCCB1 (RMR1 & RCCB1)
• RM1, RR1, RM2, RR2 & RCCB1 (RMR1, RMR2 and RCCB1)
• Full Certification

• Exam material is cumulative
• You must receive a score of 80% in order to achieve certification
• Different clients may be used if the exam is longer than 1.5 hours
• You must provide an appropriate patient for your examination

In addition to fully understanding the material conceptually and physically reviewing the exercises, the best preparation for the practical exam is the practice teaching of as many different people as possible (e.g. family, friends, classmates) to apply your knowledge, adapt it to many different body types, improve your teaching skills, and become comfortable with your teaching experience. Practice teaching within the specified timelines and meeting at least the minimum number of exercises.

• 18 hours class instruction and supervised teaching (each course)
• minimum 6 hours observation
• minimum 10 hours physical review
• minimum 10 hours practice teaching

• 24 hours class instruction and supervised teaching
• minimum 10 hours observation
• minimum 15 hours physical review
• minimum 10 hours practice teaching

• 18 hours class instruction and supervised teaching
• minimum 10 hours observation
• minimum 10 hours physical review
• minimum 10 hours practice teaching

Completion of all required course hours; in class, observation, physical review and practice teaching for each course. You will be required to submit logs to your examiner on the date of your exam. If the student fails to submit all the logs within 7 days from the exam, the entire exam will be void.

• RM1 & RM2: 1.5 hours
• RR1 & RR2: 1.5 hours
• RM1 & RR1 (RMR1): 1.5 hours
• RM1, RR1, RM2 & RR2 (RMR1 & RMR2): 2 hours
• RM1, RR1 & RCCB1 (RMR1 & RCCB1): 2 hours
• RM1, RR1, RM2, RR2 & RCCB1 (RMR1, RMR2 and RCCB1): 2 hours
• Full Certification: 2 hours

Information gathering (5–10 minutes)
In the initial five minutes of the exam you should clearly describe the case history of your subject. You will be required to discuss the following:

• Relevant demographics of the patient (age, social, workplace demands)
• Diagnosis or movement dysfunction
• Relevant diagnostic assessment information
• Pain history – severity, irritability, nature, provoking movements/positions
• Contraindications/precautions of movements/positions/loads
• Functional impairments
• Relevant contributing factors that should consider:
  • Postural contributions
  • Areas of gives and restrictions
  • Form closure, force closure, motor control and emotions/awareness dysfunction
  • Local and global system muscle dysfunction

Stated focus (5–10 minutes)
Based on your case history. You are also required to provide a goals and stated focus of workout. You should consider the following:

• Rehabilitation goals
• Specific positions or movement patterns that you will be avoiding
• Specific positions or movements patterns that you will be facilitating
• Specific props and modifications you will use
• Specific Basic Principles that will be focused on
• General description of the muscles that you determine should be the focus of the workout and other areas of concern (range of motion, gives and restrictions, facilitating or inhibiting local and global muscle systems) and how you will address them

Five Basic Principles (5–10 minutes)
Next you will take your subject through the Five Basic Principles in proper sequence, using clear imagery and movement cues to help the subject properly achieve biomechanical body awareness. You must clearly explain why each of the principles is important and demonstrate the proper cueing and correcting of the subject.

1. Breathing
   • In through the nose, out through the mouth with pursed lips
   • Emphasis is on 3-D breath especially into the posterior and lateral aspects of the rib cage, because these tend to be under utilized areas
   • Exhaling deeply can also help activate the deep support muscles by engaging the transversus abdominis
   • Explanation of the action of the transversus and how it stabilizes the lumbo-pelvic region, especially in neutral position
   • The gentle contraction of the deep pelvic floor muscles also aids in firing the transversus abdominis
   • This breath pattern helps avoid unnecessary tension in the neck and shoulders
   • This breath pattern helps relaxation
   • The rib cage opens out and up during an inhale, promoting spinal extension and closes in and down during exhale, promoting spinal flexion
2. Pelvic placement
   • In neutral pelvic placement, the natural lordotic curve of lumbar spine is present
   • ASIS and Pubic Symphysis lie approximately in a horizontal plane drawn parallel to the floor when lying supine
   • Neutral promotes good shock absorption and efficient movement patterns throughout body
   • Neutral is usually used during closed kinetic chain activities
   • Imprinted position is a slight posterior pelvic tilt with slight lumbar flexion cannot be maintained and often used during open kinetic chain activities
   • Imprint involves shortening of obliques without activation of glutes
3. Rib Cage placement
   • Emphasis is put on breathing into the posterior and lateral aspects of the rib cage
   • Abdominal wall attaches to the lower ribs. Be aware of maintaining abdominal engagement and not popping the ribs
   • Abdominals stabilize rib cage and therefore spine during movement of the arms
   • Used to keep the spine neutral and stable
4. Scapular movement and stabilization
   • Scapula lacks bony attachment to the ribs and spine (only attaching to clavicle), thereby providing mobility to the upper limb, which must be counterbalanced with stability
   • It is important to balance the surrounding muscles and to control the movement of the scapulae
   • The scapulae should lie flat on the rib cage and glide across it without winging
   • Protraction, retraction, elevation, depression, upward rotation and downward rotation are available movements
   • Stabilizing the scapulae is necessary during the initiation of every exercise
5. Head and cervical placement
   • Cervical spine should hold its natural curve (anterior convex) and the skull should be balanced directly above the shoulders in sitting or standing
   • Pads or pillows may be needed in supine or prone to prevent hyperextension of the cervical spine
   • Cervical spine continues the line of the thoracic spine in neutral, during flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation
   • Cranio-vertebral flexion, flexing the cranium on the first two vertebrae of the cervical spine, not jamming the chin into the chest, occurs initially when flexing the upper torso from a supine position
   • Use these methods to (dynamically) stabilize the cervical area and avoid strain

The Workout (remaining time – see table below)
The remainder of the practical exam is dedicated to taking your subject through an appropriate workout. The time allotted for the workout portion of the exam will not allow for the completion of all exercises in the full repertoire. You must ensure that the exercises chosen represent a well-rounded workout that address all aspects of movement (i.e. flexion, extension, rotation, etc.) and cover the minimum required number of exercises, while being appropriate to your ‘patient’.

You should incorporate props whenever necessary in order to modify the exercises appropriately. If exercise variations are being used, you should state the goal of the exercise and the reason for the modification. During the practical exam, if done in person, expect to be questioned periodically on the exercises and your choices. The test is designed in this way to evaluate the depth of your understanding of the exercises and how to administer them to your subject.

• Reported case history
• Goals and stated focus of workout
• Understanding of the Five Basic Principles – application in orientation session and to all exercises
• Ability to cue – use of verbal skills including imagery, kinesthetic cues including palpation, and demonstration where necessary to aid in guiding the subject through exercises and transitions
• Ability to correct – use of verbal skills including imagery, kinesthetic cues including palpation, and demonstration where necessary to ensure correct alignment and proper execution of exercises
• Programming skills/Ability to modify for subject – correct rationale for exercises chosen, appropriate exercise progressions and applying adaptations and modifications per individual as necessary
• Knowledge of content – name of exercises, start positions, breath and movement
• Teaching manner – attitude, motivational and rapport with individual
• Rhythm and pace – competing minimum standard of number of exercises, transitions and flow of workout, pace of exercise appropriate to individual

• Expect to be questioned periodically on the exercises and your choices. This is to evaluate the depth of your understanding of the exercises and how to administer them. After working on each individual piece of equipment you may be asked to teach a few exercises of the examiner’s choosing to “spot check” your knowledge of the entire repertoire. Completed Observation and Practice Logs must be brought to the practical exam as exams will not be processed unless accompanied by these logs. If the student fails to submit all the logs within 7 days from the exam, the entire exam will be void.

RM1 & RM2
Since we would prefer that you use real clients with real injuries for your exam, and we know that they may not have the endurance for a full exam then a different client may be used for the RM2 repertoire, on a different occasion. Approximately 25 minutes will be allocated to complete the RM2 portion. The Five Basic Principles only need to be demonstrated with the first client but a written description of the case history and focus of workout will need to be provided for the second client prior to the commencement of the exam.

RR1 & RR2
Since we would prefer that you use real clients with real injuries for your exam, and we know that they may not have the endurance for a full exam then a different client may be used for the RR2 repertoire, on a different occasion. Approximately 25 minutes will be allocated to complete the RR2 portion. The Five Basic Principles only need to be demonstrated with the first client but a written description of the case history and focus of workout will need to be provided for the second client prior to the commencement of the exam.

RM1, RR1, RM2 & RR2 (RMR1 & RMR2)
Since we would prefer that you use real clients with real injuries for your exam, and we know that they may not have the endurance for a full exam then a different client may be used for the RMR2 repertoire, on a different occasion Approximately 35–40 minutes each. The Five Basic Principles only need to be demonstrated with the first client but a written description of the case history and focus of workout will need to be provided for the second client prior to the commencement of the exam.

RM1, RR1, RM2, RR2 & RCCB1 (RMR1, RMR2 and RCCB1)
Since we would prefer that you use real clients with real injuries for your exam, and we know that they may not have the endurance for a full exam then a different client may be used for the RMR2 repertoire, on a different occasion. Approximately 25 minutes will be allocated to complete the RMR2 portion. The Five Basic Principles only need to be demonstrated with the first client but a written description of the case history and focus of workout will need to be provided for the second client prior to the commencement of the exam.

Full Certification
Since we would prefer that you use real clients with real injuries for your exam, and we know that they may not have the endurance for a full exam then a different client may be used for the RMR1 & RCCB1 and the RMR2 & RCCB2 repertoire, on two different occasions. Approximately 50–55 minutes each. The Five Basic Principles only need to be demonstrated with the first client but a written description or short verbal case history and focus of workout will need to be provided for the second client prior to the commencement of the exam.