Rolfing

[marylou]

Recommended to me by another cc.commer as a long-term solution to subtalar arthritis, causing, well you've all probably heard the story, messed up body mechanics.

 

Costs a couple thou, takes time, not covered by my HMO, hurts a lot. May or may not work. I'd pay a couple thou for a long-term or permanent solution, but it's a lot to ask if it is not going to do anything much.

 

Thoughts? Stories? Results? Testimonials? Don't be shy on details.

[crazyjizzy]

Stories about Rolfing, boy do I have them. Where to start? Yakima River '85? The Valley ? Alaska? Nepal? Pig Rigging? Rolf can cause - or- end many a problem. Lets just say that he is one bad ass son of a bitch.

[lummox]

i dig the swedish style massage. you know: the ole rub and tug.

[chelle]

Back to the subject...I've read about how rolfing can make a big difference and that it is a pretty intense thing. Don't know anyone who's gone through the whole process, so if you do it let me know how it works out.

[Jim]

I get Hellerworks done occassionally, which is an off-shoot of Ida Rolf's techniques, most often done by a physical therapist. I have some chronic back issues and it does seem to help me. Very intense. A lot of it is muscle-facia release done slowly, a lot of the time with pressure from the elbow!!! My job is to not flinch while this is going on. If a PT does it it's covered under medical insurance.

[glassgowkiss]

rolfing is called structural reintegration. i have a problem with this modality, since they say it requres 10 visits. not 8 not 12 but 10. this is where the bs is since everyone will respond at different rate. my experience is- sometimes it takes only one visit, sometimes it takes 20 or sometimes it might be a chronic condition. the answer is the homework and self care. nobody can take care of your body,only you can. there is no magic pill formula or simple answers with chronic pain problems. i would recommend finding someone who does deep tissue work in your area and try them for 2 or 3 visits. you have to have some changes in that number or it's not working. a skilled practitioner should be able to access any soft tissue within 15 minutes or they are not doing the right thing. you should be sore for 24-48 hours after treatment, but not too sore. a lot of rolfers make people sore for days, which is not a good thing.

imho sweedish massage as injury treatment is not worth much. i find active soft tissue release (S. Taws method), Neuro-Muscular Therapy and Daucek methods to be most effective. combined with muscle testing and good old MMA (muscle activation) should bring a relief of the symptoms within minutes of the treatment. having people over and over without improvement is just lame and it's unethical.

[willstrickland]

I went through the Rolfing ten series about a year ago when I was back east. Found a rolfer near UGA who would do the series for $750. Ended up doing a few tune-up type visits several months later. It definitely made some lasting structural changes. If you want to know more PM me.

[layton]

I did it but spent months in a wheelchair soon afterwards so my body went back to it's ravaged state. My rolfer wasn't aggressive enough. I'd go with polish bob's rec.

[b9r6ad]

Rolfing is called Structural Integration. I had 10 sessions done last year in Seattle, $90/ session. It was awesome. My structure was completely changed, movement became easier, I was taller and my foot didn't hurt anymore. I think the BS is in deep tissue massage therapists who claim they are going to give you anything but temporary relief. The Rolfer I worked with totally incorporated my climbing and everyday movements into the sessions and gave me lots of homework. You only go through the 10 series once, each session focuses on a different part of the body, but is tailored to you. If you want some long lasting change, check it out, you don't have to commit to 10. It doesn't hurt that bad either!

[layton]

It all depends on who you see as in every health care profession. My rolfer sucked

[dylan_taylor]

I went through a ten series in Boulder, past home of Ida P Rolf, and quite a saturated market. My friend has been doing structural integration for a few years and gave me the bro-deal - $600. Several other patients of hers have reported miraculous structural changes and improvement. I wouldn't go so far as to call any of my changes earth shattering, but I do think it was a good experience. My feet grew 3/4 of a size, I did get a touch taller, my ape-like posture evolved by a million years, and most of all, I have an increased awareness. The reason that it is a ten series is because the entire process of structural integration has been broken down into ten "baby" steps. I forget the order, but it involves inside upper body, outside upper body, inside lower body, etc... Seems like a good SI spends a different amount of time on each patient, depending on what their needs are. And, you can always go back after ten, and the SI will try to maintain the changes they have stimulated in your structure.

[marylou]

I ended up going with a Heller therapist, also under the SI umbrella. Just one session thus far. Pretty cool stuff, though it is on the intense side. Not so much pain-wise, but in other ways I guess. So far I'd say it's a lot more of releasing stuck fascia from one another than the sort of 'poke the mucle until it lets go' stuff of more traditional sports massage.

 

I'll report a bit more as I have more sessions.

[marylou]

OK, I've had four sessions now. It's been really fabulous stuff. Some sessions are more painful than others. The session where he looosened up all the hip and pelvic stuff made me "hyper-mobile" for a few days, and after he worked on my Soas muscles I was sore for the better part of a week.

 

Still, it's short-term pain for long-term gain. I'm standing up straighter, can walk better, am sleeping better, and generally feel fantastic. My only bit of skepticism lies with the idea that this therapy can give long-term results. It's too spendy to do it, say once a year.

 

Anyway, that's the latest, and I'll check back in after a few more sessions.

[Jim]

Hey ML- I've done the Hellerworks stuff over the course of 2 years and felt it has helped. I thought I was done with running because of some persistent SI problems but I've recently picked it up again (sticking to soft trails). Who are you going to?

[marylou]

Brad Harvey.

[Billygoat]

Glad it's having a positive effect there Ally...

 

 

I'm going to start my series later this summer or fall