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. 

How important is good posture to your body, really?  Some people believe that if you don’t have great postural habits, then you’re always going to hurt. Yet there are some people who slouch through life with little to no pain.

What healthy or good posture does is help in our fight against gravity. Here’s how.

The head is heavy. If it’s lined up correctly, your neck and shoulder muscles can work as they should; if not, you get a tight neck, tight shoulders, and eventual pain.

What’s the proper position for healthy posture? Your ears should line up with your mid-shoulder, as viewed from the side. That places your head and torso in proper position to support your head’s weight. Then your neck muscles can perform as designed, stabilizing and mobilizing to let you easily turn your head, nod, etc. That’s “good posture.”

Posture vs Gravity

What happens when your head is out of position, or “turtled” forward?  Tight neck and shoulders, leading to pain.  Those back-of-neck and shoulder muscles weren’t designed for that kind of counterbalance.  When your positioning is off kilter, the muscles are literally fighting gravity all day long.  They over-contract, can’t work as designed, meaning you can’t rotate and extend your head without pain or limited range-of-motion like you should. That’s not “good posture.”

Your posture can tell me a lot about how your body is doing.

I look to see if your posture is “correct” and if not, why?  Postural imbalance and resulting pain could come from a usage imbalance, genetics, a muscle misfire due to an entrapped nerve, or an irritated organ. From a Rolfing Structural Integration (Rolfing SI) standpoint, I know that the most common reason for your bearing to be off is that your body’s compensating for the pain or discomfort these can cause.

Correcting these internal misalignments are what Rolfing is all about. If postural imbalance is causing you discomfort or pain, my focus will be to restore your body’s balance. I’ll review your posture and take you through a diagnostic process to find the true source of the issue, and improve your posture, too!

Christopher Horan’s Rolfing therapies help to restore your body’s ease, balance and strength. You can schedule a Rolfing appointment with him in Horan Rolfing’s Tacoma or Bellevue office. Good posture is only a call away.

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.