The most common complaint people come to see me for in my Rolfing practice is Low Back Pain. Funnily enough, I have found that one of the best “exercises” you can do to reduce your exposure to future low back pain is to NOT use your hands when getting in and out of a chair.  Go “hands free” – seems easy enough, right?

Yet we all do it without thinking. We’ll put our hands on the dinner table to help us get up from eating a meal.  We’ll put our hands on our thighs to help us get up from the couch.  We’ll put our hands on the bench or chair by the front door to squat or to sit when putting on our shoes.

Here’s the thing: Using your hands to get in and out of a seated position can create problems, like:

• Decrease your sense of balance
• Create muscular imbalances by overusing limbs that feel strong while underusing limbs that feel weak
• De-emphasize using your core muscles and hips to lift or lower in a controlled motion

That last one can lead to teaching your body to use muscles that are not designed to take you through particular movements, which can lead to over-stressing joints or muscles down the road more than they were designed to take.

Reduce Hand Use, Improve Stability

To be clear, I’m not saying that the occasional use of your hands for balance is going to cause catastrophic back pain.  What I am saying is that by not using your hands 5, 10, 15 times per day as you get in and out of various seated positions, you are giving your body the opportunity to:

• Improve your balance
• Improve your core strength
• Engage and maintain leg and hip muscles
• Encourage use of the correct muscles when hinging at the hips, which translates to picking things up off the floor without pain.

The biggest trick is to remain committed to paying attention. Because as I said, most of the time you don’t realize you’re doing it in the first place.  Support your awareness by placing reminders at your work desk or dinner table to help ensure you create this new healthy habit and stick with it.  Another option would be to have your spouse or partner let you know when you’re using your hands.

If you find that you struggle to get in and out of a seated position without pain in your low back, you may have a structural issue that we can resolve in my Rolfing office.  Feel free to schedule here through my website.

If the pain is gone, why keep up Rolfing treatments?

Rolfing is a holistic approach to bodywork. It’s not only a treatment for pain relief, it’s also a whole-body method that restores balance. If you’re interested in not just treating the symptoms, but the cause, then consider that Rolfing may need to be part of your body’s  “health maintenance” plan.

Think about the whole-body connection. Something going on in your foot can give you shoulder pain. Why? Because your body’s musculature, connective tissues, and nerves don’t exist in silos. Everything is connected. That’s not to say you don’t celebrate the pain going away! Just be aware that unless the underlying causes are treated and resolved, symptoms return.

Holism: (from the Greek term holos “all, whole, entire”) is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts.

– Wikipedia

Rolfing looks at the holistic picture.

You likely called me because you want to get rid of pain. And I became a Certified Rolfer to help people recover from pain. But it’s essential that we get your body back into overall alignment, not just chase pain symptoms. That’s why I try to remind my clients that no one can “heal” your body for you. Your body – if it’s in a healthier state – heals itself. My goal is to help your body get to the point that its natural healing capabilities kick in.

When I look at your body’s problems, I look at the whole body. That’s what Rolfing is all about. Yes, pain is how our bodies tell us something is wrong. What pain isn’t so great at telling us is the issue, or source, of the discomfort. The jammed big toe that “heals” can still throw off your gait enough to cause low back pain. Those painful bunions? Blame your abdominal organs as much as you do bad shoe choices. Yep, sounds nuts but it’s true.

So, when you begin a Rolfing series with me, know that we’re going to look at your situation holistically. That’s what Rolfing structural integration is meant to do, not only to look at where changes can be made but also how your life-use of your mind/body could be causing or exacerbating discomfort.  After all, you want permanent healing, and that’s what I want for you, too.

To get a holistic view of what’s going on with your body, and get to the root of pain, contact Christopher via his website or simply schedule your Rolfing session with him directly here. 

No, Rolfing does not hurt you, at least it doesn’t when I do it.  You may have heard that Rolfing® Structural Integration is painful. It doesn’t need to be. Yes, I’m pushing your system so we can help your body change, but the more you relax, focus on what the sensations tell you, the more receptive to change your body will be.

In my experience, results come more productively when I work with your nervous system. I believe that positive body change is more likely to happen that way than if I work tissue while completely disregarding your comfort level.

Rolfing executed too deeply, too fast can cause your system to tense up.

That’s your body’s natural response as it tries to protect itself.  I don’t want to fight against bodily instincts, but to work at a level that keeps you relaxed on the table, working with me.

My clients typically report Rolfing as feeling like a satisfying deep pressure or a really nice deep stretch.

Every session is a little different. There’s a broad spectrum of what you can expect or will feel. For instance, if the pain source is an organ or entrapped nerves, the work feels incredibly gentle. Resistance usually surfaces when we’re trying to change entrenched patterns, like compensating from longtime pain or an injury. Or even correcting bad posture. Tissue “pushes back” vs simply accepting change.

That’s why I encourage communication throughout every Rolfing session.

Everyone has a different level of sensitivity. Is the manipulation too intense? Let me know. I do not take offense at your feedback about your body. Persistence is necessary, but not at the cost of progress or comfort.

It’s true that there are practitioners who tend to work from a “no pain, no gain” perspective. That works for some. Personalities and beliefs differ. All Rolfers go through essentially the same training yet each of us develops our own approach to Rolfing. You’ll want to choose the Certified Rolfer who most aligns with your needs and personality.

At Horan Rolfing, my sole aim is to restore your body’s ease, balance, and strength. To help you move pain-free again. You can schedule a Rolfing appointment with me in the Tacoma location of Horan Rolfing or in the Bellevue office.