http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/01/massage-muscle-repair.html

To encourage overcoming “the box” MedicinEvolution sponsors the Tri-Valley Triathlon Club. Here’s the link: http://trivalleytriclub.com/sponsors

www.tremoraction.org/pdfs/DEC-2011.pdf

Here’s an article on Rolfing Structural Integration and asthma. www.mybodyworks.com/feature.html

Back pain can be sort of mysterious. We’ve created popular, but largely ineffective sayings for addressing back pain, and many have become cliche. You may have heard, “Strengthen your abs,” “Strengthen your back,” or “Stretch your hamstrings.” You might have said, “I need a massage” or you may have heard therapists point out, “There are knots in your back and you’re muscles are tense.” Simple solutions such as these inspire hope, but they fizzle out as ineffective attempts. If these solutions were effective and back issues were simple back pain wouldn’t be one of the most common medical complaints. Usually back pain is a complex and dynamic problem, and to add to that the origins of each person’s pain may be very different. It is a given that the area in pain should be treated, the soft tissues should be eased and brought back to a more fluid state. Treating the area directly is certainly protocol – when contraindications are not present – but, there’s more than that. Part of what contributes to the pain is remaining mentally fixated on localized treatment. Let’s let go of our culture of “cliche solutions.”  Thinking outside of the box means thinking outside of the spine.

Structural Integration presents a global perspective of the body; and when understanding the spine the dynamics of local and distant anatomical landmarks such as the ribs, shoulders, and the sternum (in the chest) are seen as directly related.

The ribs and sternum are important aspects of the spine which many clients and professionals often overlook during treatment. The sides and front of the body have a direct affect on long term results. Maybe even more enlightening is that giving freedom to these adjacent structures can also contribute to decrease possible future susceptibility of acute and chronic pain.

When back muscles becomes rigid and spinal resilience is compromised the entire thoracic trunk is affected and all the structures from one extent to another freeze. When a vertebrae or a section of the spine is affected it is effected three-dimensionally, meaning to treat back pain thoroughly it is also neccessary to restore fluidity in the front (sternum), top and bottom (neck and shoulder blade), side to side (ribs) and through the body because the body is not hollow – it is three dimensionally connected. The soft tissues i.e., muscles, fascia, tendons, and ligaments on the very front of the spine (behind the organs) need to become fluid again for long term relief.  This  concept is foundational, but unique to Structural Integration, good practitioners can affect change at this level.

Structural integration is getting more attention as a way to help relieve pain for people who lead sedentary lifestyles and straighten them out.

Structural integration has been called deeper than deep-tissue massage.

Physical therapy is great for acute things, great for very specific problems.

Each session is specifically designed to your particular shape, your particular issues, and what the goals are.

Read the full article here: Structural Integration Relieves Pain

Body patterns vary and are molded by our individual experiences beginning in the womb.  It may be that you get sick, but your body but doesn’t release the physical consequences easily. Someone else becomes injured or has an operation, but the healing process doesn’t require a “release” of connective tissues.  Another person might go through a highly stressful event, when it’s over he says, “I’m not the same.” Dysfunctional patterns can be created from stress on any level, but they tend to always manifest on the physical plane.

Structural Integration eases stress on all levels no matter what the causation is – by addressing the physical structure.  Contact us today and do something for yourself that will have a positive effect not only on you but in everything you do.  Have a beautiful day!

In my practice, MedicinEvolution, I’ve heard clients say some of the most interesting things after experiencing Rolf Structural Integration.  I want to share some of what I can recall with you.
•    Since the session the world has been more vivid, my senses seemed to be more acute.  That goes for every sense, my hearing, sight, smell, etc.  I notice things I didn’t before although they’ve always been right in front of me.
•    For some reason I have access to a wider range of vocabulary.
•    I felt a sense of spirituality.  I became Muslim.
•    This work has will help develop your intuition.
•    I’m an athlete, I know my foot, but I’ve never been able to feel my foot like this before.  The awareness that it has brought, amazing!
•    I’m much more aware of my body.
•    Before the work I used to live in the attic (pointing to her head).  Now I feel like I’ve come down to live in the house (pointing to her body).
•    I wanted to get married, and now I’m engaged.
•    His confidence is better.
•    She’s happier!
•    That night after the 6th session all of my symptoms the night of the car accident returned i.e., vomitting, back pain, headache, etc. just like they were.  By the time I woke in the morning they were gone.  My back pain is gone.
•    Don’t take your hand off my back, I can feel the pain leaving through your hand.  Keep it right where it is.  (A very good friend during his bout with cancer, I miss you)
•    My asthma went away.
•    I totally forgot that I wore leg braces.  That was 20 something years ago, and right now I am recalling the Dr. and his exact address.  That’s weird.  (While reestablishing balance in his lower legs)
•    Emotions could no longer anchor themselves to flesh, they’d come and go.
•    I grew an inch.
•    I feel stronger.
•    I feel younger.
•    I feel skinnier.
•    My old pants fit me again.
•    What I’ve learned from Structural Integration is that I can prevent my own future ailments.
•    I don’t get sick like I used to, I would’ve expected to get sick this winter.
•    I’ve experienced a new level of health and fitness.
•    I consider it a part of my training (as a triathlete).
•    I’ve been to a lot of reputable people but no one ( like a Structural Integration practitioner) waits for the body to move, I feel like this does something.
•    I can sleep better.
•    I didn’t feel a thing after the ten sessions.  After returning from a 200 mile hike on the Pacific Coast Trail I don’t think I would’ve made it if I didn’t go through this work.
•    I was shy, the uprightness that I feel makes me feel better about myself.
•    After only a few sessions I could already feel the results not only in the way my back felt but my posture, breathing and the way I was moving. I knew that the underlying postural imbalances were beginning to correct themselves.

If you read through the literature of alternative medicine you can find interesting things like this.  What I love about the Rolf work is that its focus is to release, clarify, define, communicate, support, and organize the physical body.  As a result, the purity of the physical work can sometimes lead to a sort of veil being removed between different aspects of one’s being, the direct correlation, then, becomes clear.  Here are some physical goals during the ten session process of Rolf Structural Integration:
•    Bringing length to the front of the body.
•    Stacking major segments more appropriately.
•    Increasing the vital capacity (breath).
•    Helping the (3) foot arches to function properly.
•    Balancing knees over ankles.
•    Lengthening the back and supporting the spine by restoring correct position of muscles and soft tissue.
•    To win back “sides” of the body
•    Coaxing length in inner legs and revitalizing the pelvic floor.
•    Awakening deep structures and relating anatomy superficial and deep.
•    Freeing the sacrum from the pelvis and restoring it as part of the spine.
•    Horizontalizing the pelvis (the “seat of the soul” as Dr. Rolf described it).
•    Enabling micro-movements to the bones of the head and unifying the spine and all its complexities.
•    Integrating movement of the limbs into the body and empowering a broader more unified range of motion.
•    Establishing optimal joint function, nervous system health, organ space, structure and function, function and structure, three-dimensional body.