Fitness Performance

Personally, I discovered Rolfing^® SI through an athletic injury. During a football (soccer) game in my early 20's, while running across the field I stepped in a hole tearing a ligament in my knee (ACL) and leaving me with very limited range-of-motion and a limp even after a year of recovery, plus physiotherapy. Rolfing gave me back the range of motion and my limp completely dissapeared after several sessions. Over 30 years later, I have only occasionally had irritation in my injured knee and during this period of time I have climbed, skiied, mountainbiked, cycled and been as physically active as I was before my injury. Rolfing made the difference. The benefits were observable in the short-term (weeks) and sustainable over decades.

Today, we know much more about the underlying physiology that Rolfing^® addresses. For instance,

Connective tissue is highly ennervated with over 10 times more nerves than muscle tissue.
The skin is no longer considered the largest sensory organ, it is the body's fascial network.
Posture, balance and stability are a function of flexible and healthy connective tissue (fascia).
Movement, reaction speed, strength are functions of posture, tonus, and smoothly coordinated neural activation, all of which have as a common basic foundation healthy connnective tissue.
Most sports injuries are connective tissue injuries.

A growing body of evidence points to the fundamental role of connective tissue (fascia) in fitness and athletic performance. It is time to consider that a new paradigm for fitness is emerging . . . where connective tissue (fascia) plays a central role in athletic performance, injury prevention, recovery and rehabilitation.

A New Fitness Paradigm

A better understanding of the role and function of connective tissue within our bodies, gives us a new and different perspective on its importance to fitness. You are probably already familiar with some of the terminology. Recent fitness trends such as: movement prep or mobilization, pre-movement or prehabilitation, elasticity and tissue tolerance, posture assessments, stability/balance work, and foam rolling are only "components" of this larger picture. This broader perspective is more commonly referred to as fascial fitness. Further information and discussion of the implications for your fitness performance are explored here.

Rolfing^® Structural & Movement™ Integration

Rolfing^®can directly support your fitness objectives through manual manipulation (Structural) and movement education (Functional). Working across these two dimensions, Rolfer's also explore the sensorial and perceptual patterns we have acquired through living; our body schema and body image. Refinement in posture and movement, that enhance stability and balance, adding gracefulness and ease to motion, result from the body's integration of structural, functional and psychobiological explorations. Rolfing's goal is to open new possibilities and through these to support your fitness goals in several ways...

Performance:

Rolfing offers the potential for enhancing the body's elasticity and resiliancy... ...

Recovery:

Recovery within the context of this discussion, includes time between milestones or training sessions, and periods when taking a break in training to allow the body to rest. Rolfing offers help in several specific ways when it comes to recovery.

The first is its effect on the the quality or uniformity of tissue. By addressing smaller lessions early and helping condition fascial tissue through manipulation, Rolfing can steer away issues that could prevent training or competition; it can become part of conditioning the body for further physical stress and, simultaneously injury prevention.

Secondly, Rolfing induces in the tissues manipulated a dehydration/rehydration cycle. This cycle refreshes the tissue encouraging fluid movement. This encourages the elasticy and pliability of the tissue renewing its ability to sustain additional stress and restoring its functionality. As individuals age, this effect is increasingly important.

Finally, physical stress can de-sensitize fascial tissue neuroreceptors. By stimulating locally the affected tissue, the body's response is one of renewed awareness, accelerating full recovery of proprioception and motion control. Again, this benefit can also be important in avoiding overstress and injury.

Injury Prevention:

Structurally, Rolfing^® SI is a systematic method of fascia tissue manipulation. From recent discoveries in fascia research, we have learned that the nature of most athletic (and many non-athletic) injuries, is that the connective tissue of the body is stretched faster than it can respond to the stress imposed on it. The more uniform and pliable the tissue, the more elastic it becomes. Rolfing addresses both uniformity by freeing the tissue of "catches" - areas of strain, and by increasing the hydration of treated tissue. Thus, Rolfing enhances both uniformity and "fluidity", adding elasticity that enables connective tissue to respond faster to physical stresses.

Through movement education (proprioceptive re-education), Rolfing can facilitate more stable, balanced and smoother transitions in motion. These are shifts in posture, muscle tone and the order of muscle activation resulting is less stressful adaptation to the demands of physical activity. Rolfing offers a variety of techniques that have potential to significantly diminish the likelyhood of injury... be this in competition, or simply those daily moments where extra-effort is called for.

The changes in fascia tissue as we age, increase the probability of injury through less uniformity and diminished hydration. Rolfing can help here too, by providing a "tune-up" for aging tissue and helping maintain range-of-motion, flexibility, good posture and vitality.

Rehabilitation:

Rolfing offers easing the long-term consequences of injury.

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