Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Rolfing-structural integration

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Rolfing-structural integration

    I am a Rolfer with only three years experience. Recently, I have been asked to give a talk at a scoliosis organization in the city where I live discussing the benefits of Rolfing for people with scoliosis. As a result I may gain new clients whom I would like to treat as effectively as possible.

    IF you suffer from scoliosis and have tried Rolfing/ structural integration, your feedback is greatly appreciated. Below are a few questions I am adding as guidelines.

    1. how many sessions did you receive? over what period of time?
    2. how did Rolfing affect your body's structure?
    3. do you think Rolfing is effective in relieving some of the discomfort related to scoliosis? why?
    4. what would be your advice to anyone interested in trying Rolfing?
    5. what special considerations do you think a Rolfing practitioner should be aware of when working with a person affected by scoliosis?

  • #2
    I don't know if I'm going to wish I hadn't asked this, but hear goes. What is rolfing?
    Rita Thompson
    Age 46
    Milwaukee Brace wearer for 3 years in childhood
    Surgery Mar 1st - 95 degree thoracic curve
    Surgery by Dr. Lenke, St. Louis, MO
    Post-surgery curve 25-30 degree

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by RitaR View Post
      I don't know if I'm going to wish I hadn't asked this, but hear goes. What is rolfing?
      It's like acid reflux only worse, usually brought on by binge drinking. :-)

      Just kidding. Here's a web link: http://www.rolf.org/

      Comment


      • #4
        Ha! That made me wonder. I have to tell you, though, anyone stands over me and pushes on my back like that probably wouldn't be standing long......Ha!
        Rita Thompson
        Age 46
        Milwaukee Brace wearer for 3 years in childhood
        Surgery Mar 1st - 95 degree thoracic curve
        Surgery by Dr. Lenke, St. Louis, MO
        Post-surgery curve 25-30 degree

        Comment


        • #5
          Shouldn't be painful

          Dear friends,
          all jokes aside, I believe that in some instances Rolfing can be beneficial to people suffering from scoliosis. Although Rolfing is sometimes know for being a painful procedure, this isn't really the case. Or at least shouldn't be the case. A good practitioner maintains a steady dialogue with his/her clients in order to adjust to their sensation thresholds.

          In my own personal experience, I have worked with people with less severe spinal curvatures who have enjoyed Rolfing and who feel they benefitted from the sessions. I know this will not always be the case, however I would like to ensure I'm doing the best I can on my end to provide accurate information and to make my client's experience a pleasant one.

          That is where your own experiences can be helpful to me.

          thanx again in advance

          Comment


          • #6
            I had one experience with rolfing.

            Afterward I felt bruised and sun-burned. I will never try it again unless it's for free...

            As he was working my back had a huge ache and so I moved so that it would crack (I NEVER crack my back) and then I felt relief. The rolfer's comment: that's your body readjusting. No, that's my body complaining that you are hurting it.

            I spent $150 and the session was at 3pm. By the time I got home at 4pm the check had already been cashed.

            Maybe other's out there have had a better experience but mine I felt like I got scammed.

            Comment


            • #7
              thanx

              Originally posted by trcylynn View Post
              I had one experience with rolfing.

              Afterward I felt bruised and sun-burned. I will never try it again unless it's for free...

              As he was working my back had a huge ache and so I moved so that it would crack (I NEVER crack my back) and then I felt relief. The rolfer's comment: that's your body readjusting. No, that's my body complaining that you are hurting it.

              I spent $150 and the session was at 3pm. By the time I got home at 4pm the check had already been cashed.

              Maybe other's out there have had a better experience but mine I felt like I got scammed.
              I'm sorry you had such a bad experience and I appreciate your honest feedback.
              Unfortunately yours is the 2nd reply (1 was private) in which it seems that the Rolfer used too much force, wasn't being sensitive to their client's pain threshold and actually "hurt" them.
              As a Rolfer I find this feedback disconcerting and educational.

              Thanks

              Comment


              • #8
                My daughter has had several sessions with structural integration. She is 9 so they only do a 1/2 hour session on her. It doesn't hurt her at all, as you have said, the practitioner is constantly eliciting feedback - she seems more relaxed afterwards. I have no idea if it helps with the scoli (not to cure it but maybe to help maintain flexibility), but mentally it seems calming-almost like massage is for me.
                daughter, 12, diagnosed 8/07 with 19T/13L
                -Braced in spinecor 10/07 - 8/12 with excellent in brace correction and stable/slightly decreased out of brace curves.
                -Introduced Providence brace as adjunct at night in 11/2011 in anticipation of growth spurt. Curves still stable.
                -Currently in Boston Brace. Growth spurt is here and curves (and rotation) have increased to 23T/17L

                Comment


                • #9
                  i've done the 10 sessions of rolfing, and at $125 each session (for anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half), it was definitely not worth the money and certainly didn't help my scoliosis in any way. plus, i found it to be similar to a deep tissue massage - which you can get for a lot cheaper. also, i didn't like how each session was predetermined. some sessions hardly focused on my back at all (my main problem area). during one session the practitioner actually had her finger in my nose while wearing a glove and having some sort of oil on her finger. that was a little too weird for me - especially when i had to pay her for it!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by jillw View Post
                    My daughter has had several sessions with structural integration. She is 9 so they only do a 1/2 hour session on her. It doesn't hurt her at all, as you have said, the practitioner is constantly eliciting feedback - she seems more relaxed afterwards. I have no idea if it helps with the scoli (not to cure it but maybe to help maintain flexibility), but mentally it seems calming-almost like massage is for me.
                    Yay!!!
                    And yay again for Katie who I see is recently out of her brace.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      thanks, but she's still wearing her brace (it's just that her most recent xray was taken out of brace instead of in brace)
                      daughter, 12, diagnosed 8/07 with 19T/13L
                      -Braced in spinecor 10/07 - 8/12 with excellent in brace correction and stable/slightly decreased out of brace curves.
                      -Introduced Providence brace as adjunct at night in 11/2011 in anticipation of growth spurt. Curves still stable.
                      -Currently in Boston Brace. Growth spurt is here and curves (and rotation) have increased to 23T/17L

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by MissEmmyF View Post
                        i've done the 10 sessions of rolfing, and at $125 each session (for anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half), it was definitely not worth the money and certainly didn't help my scoliosis in any way. plus, i found it to be similar to a deep tissue massage - which you can get for a lot cheaper. also, i didn't like how each session was predetermined. some sessions hardly focused on my back at all (my main problem area). during one session the practitioner actually had her finger in my nose while wearing a glove and having some sort of oil on her finger. that was a little too weird for me - especially when i had to pay her for it!
                        Hi Miss Emmy,
                        thanks 4 your feedback.
                        I see you didn't like the "predetermined sessions" factor and I'd like to take a moment to talk about that, because I love this topic, since I often struggle with it myself! Why go through the 10 session process and not just go touch where it hurts?

                        I am learning that though each session has certain "guidelines" these in no way should predetermine how the session will be. I use these guidelines to help me plan a strategy based on each client's body structure/needs at that moment.

                        Also, I wanted to mention why not all session focus on one's main problem area. In order to offer support and length to a person's spine, it is often necessary to free the limbs of restrictions first. For example: it is important for one's legs to be able to "ground" and offer stability to the pelvis and trunk. The arms and neck need to be free of tensional patterns so that once the deep spinal tensions are addressed they don't accumulate in the neck, causing further discomfort.

                        I realize all this talk isn't gonna change your experience but I'm sure grateful to get to blab a bit about the parts of my job that I like

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          oops!

                          Originally posted by jillw View Post
                          thanks, but she's still wearing her brace (it's just that her most recent xray was taken out of brace instead of in brace)
                          Sorry about the misread!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I have done a few sessions of rolfing and I loved it. I thought it felt sooo good. My parents paid for a few sessions for me cuz I have scoliosis . But each session was so expensive so I haven't done it since. But after the sessions my body felt so good it felt like I was on a high like I had taken a pill or something. But if it was affordable I would love to do it again. But now I had surgery so I don't kno how that would affect it.
                            -Bethany
                            pre-op L 74*
                            pre-op Th 56*
                            surgery scheduled for jan. 6th 2010
                            getting nervous

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by MissEmmyF View Post
                              ... i found it to be similar to a deep tissue massage - which you can get for a lot cheaper. also, i didn't like how each session was predetermined. some sessions hardly focused on my back at all (my main problem area). ...
                              I wanted to comment on this based on my experiences receiving massage - and my current ones as I prepare to change careers: I'm in school right now to become a massage therapist ... specializing in pain management for pre/post-op scoliosis.

                              As patients, we might think the therapist should be focusing on a certain area ... like where we actually *feel* the pain. In reality, that's rarely the case.

                              For example, many of us with scoliosis deal with burning/fatigue in the rhomboids (located between the medial border of the scapula and the spine): Almost never are the rhomboids the issue.

                              Typically, the problem isn't even on the posterior side: It's an anterior issue where the pectoral muscles have tightened, hunching the shoulders forward to some degree (especially in those of us that sit in front of a computer all day) - and the poor rhomboids are beyond overstretched, screaming for relief.

                              It's common to think because our back hurts, that's what should be worked. It might feel good in the very short-term, but in this particular example, the long-term solution to the problem lies in stretching and releasing the chest area - and exercising to maintain laxity.

                              Another similar scenario is one described by the complaint of countless post-op long fusion patients: "My lumbar area is tight/hurts!".

                              When questioned, very few know how important it is to keep their hamstrings stretched - and many are unable to keep the iliopsoas group limber on the anterior side of the body. A tight iliopsoas puts the same type of antagonistic strain on the posterior muscles that support the lower back as tight pectoralis major/minor place on the rhomboids.

                              Likewise, every bit of flexibility you can squeeze from your hamstrings releases pull on everything above.

                              Personally, I didn't see any lasting result from Rolfing, but I did see a short-term feeling of "lengthening" (for lack of a better word). My pre-op case also wasn't typical as no type of pain management worked for me.

                              It's certainly isn't a route I'd discourage patients (pre-op and post-op) to investigate, but pick your therapist carefully. I agree completely it should NOT hurt.

                              Regards,
                              Pam
                              Fusion is NOT the end of the world.
                              AIDS Walk Houston 2008 5K @ 33 days post op!


                              41, dx'd JIS & Boston braced @ 10
                              Pre-op ±53°, Post-op < 20°
                              Fused 2/5/08, T4-L1 ... Darrell S. Hanson, Houston


                              VIEW MY X-RAYS
                              EMAIL ME

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X