Introduction:
Rolfing is a physical therapy that helps to improve your posture and treats chronic muscular-skeletal pain conditions, such as lower back pain, sciatica and stiff and painful shoulders. Rolfing was founded by Dr Ida Rolf, a research biochemist from the Bronx who lived 1896-1979.
Rolfing is a systematic and holistic method of manipulating the muscle and fascia to help the body return to structural balance in movement and gravity.
What Are the Benefits of Rolfing?
The benefits of Rolfing include improved posture and structure. This is achieved through body manipulation and realignment by using specialized techniques. Practitioners believe that body is at its most efficient and optimal functional level when it is completely balanced.
By resolving discomfort, alleviating pain, and releasing tension in the body, Rolfing® enables the body to conserve energy, improve and optimize movement patterns, reduce inflammation and chronic stress, as well as provide improved athletic performance.
Incorrect posture can lead to several severe complications and conditions that negatively affect your life. Rolfing® has a proven track record of reducing spinal curvature and improving neurological function.
Rolfing is perfectly safe and non-invasive to the patient, making the experience rather pleasant and relatively pain-free.
Side effects of Rolfing:
Rolfing negative side effects, if any, are temporary. Most common side effect if the client is new to bodywork is the release of long held body toxins, which may lead to having cold symptoms days later. Additionally, some may have reaction such as headaches, soreness, swelling, and or nausea.
Difference in Rolfing and massage:
Rolfing and massage differ most significantly in one key way: massage is great for short-term relaxation or relief of pain, while Rolfing changes the structure of the body to provide long-lasting ease and relief.
Conclusion:
The principles of Rolfing contradict established medical knowledge, and there is no good evidence Rolfing is effective for the treatment of any health condition. It is recognized as a pseudoscience and has been characterized as quackery.