How do your muscles get pulled in the first place? Muscle fibers stretch too far past normal working length, tearing muscle fibers. That causes what we’re most familiar with as a “pulled muscle.” It can be severe enough to keep you from working out like usual for weeks at a time. Let’s talk about recovery and Rolfing – because you definitely want to recover properly to get back to 100%.

How can Rolfing help you recover from pulled muscles?’

Usually, the first thing we want to do is try to stretch it out. The assumption is that we pulled it because it was too short. Here’s where understanding how one part of the body’s musculature and myofascial affect another part is so important.

For example, did you know a pulled hamstring may not have anything to do with your hamstring being short? Yep. It could be that a short quadricep is pulling your pelvis into a front tilt. Because your hamstrings attach to the back of your pelvis, your hamstring is actually being pulled too long! That means the last thing you want to do is stretch your hamstrings. Instead, you need to stretch – or lengthen – your quads.

Other reasons for pulled muscles: Poor habits & dehydration.

You may be thinking, “How could my quads get too short?” It all depends on how you’re using your body, from how you sit to how you work out. If an injury or a bad habit makes your muscles misfire – the sequence is off – then it’s a lot easier to pull a muscle.

Another reason for a pulled muscle is dehydration. You’d be amazed at how much it matters to your muscles that you’re well-hydrated, because there’s simply no elasticity in dehydrated soft tissue. Here, test yourself:

Pinch the skin right behind any knuckle on your hand. Did it flatten out right away? Excellent. Way to keep hydrated. Did it stay pinched for any time at all? You’re dehydrated – drink water now!

Remember, as little as 2% dehydration affects your mental alertness and physical performance. Get into the habit of checking your non-diuretic fluid intake. Caffeinated coffee, sodas, even green tea, causes more frequent urination. If you’re not balancing that out with healthy hydration, you’re placing your muscles – and your mind – at a disadvantage.

We’ll explore all possible reasons for your muscle pain during your initial examination when I evaluate your body mechanics. Our Rolfing sessions together are focused on getting your body – and how you use it – back into balance for the long term. That often means creating new habits and patterns. Let’s get started!

At Horan Rolfing, my goal is to help you move pain-free again. We’ll work together to restore your body’s ease, balance, and strength. Schedule a Rolfing appointment with me in the Tacoma location of Horan Rolfing or in the Bellevue office.

It’s true – you’d be surprised at the number of Rolfing clients who walk in and point to their butt, complaining of sciatica. My first step is to determine through diagnostics which nerves are causing problems, like if the visceral system is even involved.

Here’s what happens with sciatica. The sciatic nerve (root of sciatica) begins in L4 – S3 (L meaning Lumbar vertebra and S meaning Sacral segments) and goes down the back of your leg, continuing into your feet. If that nerve is “pinched” anywhere along the line, you’ll feel pain. It can cause issues walking, standing, lying down – in fact, sciatic nerve inflammation can be a pretty miserable situation.

Nerves can be tricky.  They talk a lot amongst themselves, sharing irritation. They’re reliable in that you know when something hurts. Yet getting specifics on where the hurt begins isn’t always as obvious. One compressed nerve tells all the connected nerves, then the brain, that things aren’t right. Well, then the brain gets involved and suddenly you feel like lots of areas are inflamed. Say, for instance, your toe hurts. That doesn’t necessarily mean your toe is injured, just that the nerves in your toe feel pain. The origination point could be somewhere way up the line.

I’m 2/3 the way through the series with Mr. Horan and it’s been incredible to see my posture improve and my long-time sciatica go away completely. – M. Fish, Horan Rolfing Client

What happens when you tell me, “I think I have sciatica.”

I’m going to look at the potential sciatic nerve compression points – spinal, muscular and organ. This is why the ability to discover the start of your discomfort is so important to resolving it. Every potential cause needs assessment. If you have damage to an intervertebral disc in the spine, protrusion into the nerve area can irritate the sciatic nerve. Or say the nerve is perfectly fine in the spine, but then the rectum or the sigmoid colon (both organs that sit right in front of it) compress the nerve causing pain. Then there’s the deeply seated piriformis muscle, a common source of sciatic nerve pain, tingling, or even numbness that runs down the leg or into the foot, as in piriformis syndrome.

As a Certified Rolfer, my aim is to 1) diagnose the actual pain source, and 2) free up the affected structures. Here’s also where balance is so important to the surrounding areas. It may call for evaluation of your movement patterns. It’s common for habits in gait, stance, or sitting to affect our bodies. Exercise routines could be exacerbating an issue. We’ll look at how retraining those habits or adjusting routines could help.

Christopher Horan’s Rolfing therapies help alleviate issues from sciatica. His mission is to help restore freedom of movement without pain. You can schedule a Rolfing appointment with him in Horan Rolfing’s Tacoma or Bellevue office. Sciatic nerve pain relief is only a call away!

First of all, I hope you and yours have – and remain – healthy. Secondly, I’m happy to announce that Horan Rolfing is open and scheduling clients for Rolfing appointments. You can visit the site here to access my online scheduling system, review availability, and schedule your sessions.

As my Rolfing practice continues business operations, there will be new precautions and office safety measures implemented for the wellbeing of both you and me. I invite you to follow me on social media for updates on the practice, plus tips to keep your body moving well between Rolfing sessions. 

Before scheduling your appointment, please review the below to understand the new operating procedures at Horan Rolfing. And finally, my sincere thanks, for your support and loyalty over the years.

In health,

Christopher

Horan Rolfing Safety | New Operating Procedures

All hard, touchable surfaces are being wiped down with CDC approved cleaners in between every session, including chairs, stools, doorknobs, face cradle, tabletops, disk, my cell phone, lamps.

• All sheets and linens are replaced between every session.
• My hands are washed before and after every session.
• I am wearing a face-mask during every session.

When Not to Come in for a Rolfing Session

Because people with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness, for office safety, anyone experiencing the below symptoms should not come in to Horan Rolfing for a session.

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Headache

Until we see each other again, if you’re feeling tight, try a stretch, like the Hip Flexor one below. Thank you for scheduling your next appointment, and for your continued support – see you soon!

We’ve all experienced it. The pain in our neck that isn’t going away. With Rolfing, the first step is to find out what’s causing the neck pain. Is it whiplash? TMJ? Or is it coming from some area of the body that you’d never guess would make your neck hurt? Let’s find out.

When I’m working on a source diagnosis for where the pain is originating, I’m typically looking for an imbalance. Keep in mind that pain from an imbalance can be from any number of issues:

• Musculoskeletal
• Pinched or trapped nerve
• Abdominal organ that shares a common nerve with one in your neck (it happens)

I know. Sometimes it’s as if you just opened your eyes one morning, went to jump out of bed, and suddenly, “Owwwww!” My role is to (1) find the source of that OW and (2) get your body in the best position to heal itself so the hurt goes away.

When you come to me, don’t be surprised if I watch you walk, look at the different ways you move your body, or interview you on recent exercises or home activities. I use all kinds of diagnostic methods to discover the imbalance. All of it is to determine where the neck pain starts, not just to treat where the symptoms show up.

Getting Rid of Neck Pain

Re-educating Your Body

The important thing to remember is that we’re not going for a temporary fix. Yes, I want the pain in your neck to go away – as soon as possible. But I also want to know how we can keep it from coming back. That’s the other thing the source helps tell us. Imbalance can be because of some nutritional issue, everyday movement that needs to be corrected, or because you’re unconsciously compensating for an old injury.

Your health history – that includes exercise, athletics, work and play, too – feeds into a roadmap. The roadmap provides guidance on what you can do to help keep the neck pain from returning. Together we’ll teach your body, re-educate it, on how to keep you moving freely and without discomfort.

Christopher Horan’s Rolfing practice helps clients find freedom of movement, without pain. He uses Rolfing to treat neck pain, sciatica, back pain, TMJ, athletic injuries, as well as to improve posture and gait. Schedule your Rolfing session with Christopher today for either his greater Tacoma or Bellevue location.