If chiropractic treatment, massage, physiotherapy or acupuncture is not working for you, this technique – that focuses on correcting the positioning of the myofascial layers in your body and improving posture – might be worth a try!
How can Rolfing help me?
Many athletes use Rolfing to improve their performance. Whether you are a professional athlete or just want to stay in better shape, Rolfing can help you to achieve your goals. No matter what sport or physical activity you perform, thanks Rolfing you can improve your flexibility and balance leading to deeper breathing which improve your stamina and endurance. Very important fact is that by realigning your posture you can not only avoid sport injuries, but also decrease recovery time for sport’s related injuries.
Two key factors bring an athlete to Rolfing: recovery from injury and performance enhancement. Most athletes, from beginners to professionals, try a new therapy because other treatments aren’t meeting their needs. Most acute conditions have their roots in a chronic condition. Sometimes these chronic problems are well-known, and other times they are “sub-clinical” or not yet producing symptoms.( https://align.org/rolfing-sport/ )
Some activities we love and do regularly can be also very hard on our bodies. Sometimes we push ourselves to train harder and improve without injury. We put our body through repetitive motions that can pull muscles and Fascia out of alignment causing joints – knee, ankles, neck, beck and shoulders to gradually tighten and build up scar tissue. This increase tension and strain leading to pain, lack of flexibility, tendonitis, increased injury and decreased performance.
Why Runners suffers with Knee Pain?
Let me give you an example: if you see some runners walking or running, their knees are not tracking straight. The cause can be in ankles or pelvis – lack of plantar/dorsi flexion of ankles, high or low ankle arch or just tight hips. Because of unbalanced strain pattern, lower and upper legs will not be traveling same direction and create rotation. The knee is caught in the middle and takes all the strain. Pressure does not distribute through the center of the joint. This causes excessive force applied either on medial or lateral side of knee meniscus It is only a matter of time before the knee wears out.
Because Rolfing works with Fascia, three – dimensional network of connective tissue (consists of tendons and ligaments in the joints) which surrounds each muscles fiber and covers every muscles in the body, Fascia that holds the body in alignment dictating our posture flexibility and movement patterns.
Rolfing helps both recreational and competitive athletes. For each client there is a different approach that can vary from different goals and needs – acute or chronic pain, injury or higher performance. These approaches don’t require complete all 10 sessions, but can be set to each clients needs. Although 10 sessions is recommended, most people experience very positive results after just one session.
Rolfing also can help gymnasts or ballet dancers to improve body awareness and coordination, reduce the wear and tear of activity, exercise and competition and restore balance and flexibility in body that can be compromised by intense repetitive activity.
Main Benefits of Rolfing Structural Integration
Increased range of motion and ease of movement- Better biomechanical efficiency by decreasing muscles restrictions
- Faster recovery from injury
- Improve balance and flexibility in body
- Reduce the wear and tear during sports activity as training or competition
- Decreased pain
- Increase stamina and endurance
Increased range of motion and ease of movement
Video by Russell Stolzoff “Rolfing for Optimizing Athletic Performance .” Uploaded by vimeo – Stolzoff Sportworks