Guest guest Posted December 10, 2000 Report Share Posted December 10, 2000 Thanks Phil for getting more into an explanation of Rolfing. I have those sticky muscles you are speaky of. I always say that I feel like glue is in me. It is the fascia that is created a lot of problems for the fibromyalgia symptoms that I am having. I feel like concrete in the chest muscles and also the back. Do you think that Rolfing or massage would be better to start out with. I heard about Rolfing in a book and a Dr. with fibro did not to much recommend it but I had thought about trying it anyway, what do ya think,thanks....T p.s. glad to hear that your wife did find some relief though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2000 Report Share Posted December 10, 2000 Rolfing has been coming up a number of times and some people sound confused about what it its. Here is a brief explaination of what it is and what I think it can do and not do. (please take all this with a grain of salt. My knowlege of rolfing is experiential, not professional or through training) 1. Rolfing is not massage. My rolfer would tell me to go elsewhere if all I wanted was a massage. There are I believe people trained in rolfing who will also do massage. 2. Rolfing is a whole philosophy of " attunement " which is aimed at aligning the muscle groups they way they were meant to be aligned. In a way, rolfing does for muscles what a chiropractor does for bones. Through stress, trama,(early body memories from rape, physical abuse is a prime source) every day bumps, fibromyalgia, etc, (ie- anything that puts stress on the muscles and moves them around) the muscles can get messed up by sticking to one another, realigning where they are, bundling in some weird way etc. 3. The rolfer will evaluate how you stand, move, walk, your posture, how your body parts are aligned (ie do your feet point forward etc) He will then work on each appropriate muscle group to get them in the right position, proper length, and move freely in the body. This accouplishes the same thing a chiropractor wants to accomplish, but he moves the bones to where they should be and then expects the muscles to follow. The rolfer does the opposite. He moves the muscles until the body is aligned properly. The pain comes from having to get to the muscles and work on them. My rolfer can vary the amount of pain by how " agressively " he works on a problem. When he worked on my wife with her fibromyalgia he took the early sessions slowly until she was comfortable with the process. By the 5th session she was looking forward to seeing him the next week. 4. The rolfing helped my wife with a lot of old body memories which added to her pain. He helped her muscles stop hurting themselves. But I do not believe nor does he, that he did anthing long term toward " curing " the fibromyalgia On Massage. Since I'm on a roll, I would like to add something about massage. I believe fibromyalgia pain is helped by massage because it softens the muscles and kneeds the built up toxins in the muscle fibers. It doesn't cure the disease. The more often you do it, the better. The worse the fibromyalgia, the more massage hurts. Obviously the more pain you can stand, the deeper the massage you can handle. Several years ago My wife (Deanna) could barely handle the pain that just touching some of her pain trigger points. Upper legs and breasts were the worst. I found that if I massaged her lightly at first, and then went back she seemed to not have such excruciating pain and could take a deeper massage. Now after much work, she relishes a deep massage, and is disappointed if she gets less. Hope this helps Phil ---pkoerper@... In the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2000 Report Share Posted December 10, 2000 personally, i feel Myofascial massage technique is the absolute wonder of the FMS world...find a good therapist and try it. if it doesn't work,.,,they are doing it wrong and you should try another one... robin Re: Re: Rolfing Thanks Phil for getting more into an explanation of Rolfing. I have those sticky muscles you are speaky of. I always say that I feel like glue is in me. It is the fascia that is created a lot of problems for the fibromyalgia symptoms that I am having. I feel like concrete in the chest muscles and also the back. Do you think that Rolfing or massage would be better to start out with. I heard about Rolfing in a book and a Dr. with fibro did not to much recommend it but I had thought about trying it anyway, what do ya think,thanks....T p.s. glad to hear that your wife did find some relief though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2000 Report Share Posted December 13, 2000 Hi DWigg I waffle back and forth as to which to try first. I talked with my massage therapist and have a call into my rolfer. I think I would recommend the massage first for these reasons. If you are in such pain that you really hurt when you are touched, then rolfing would be a big step. Rolfing is usually a 10 session program which for me was $90/session. That makes it pretty expensive committment just to see if it helps. If you get a good massage therapist they will be able to do the myofacial massage at whatever level you can stand. If you do it consistantly and keep going deeper, the massage will start loostening the facia around each muscle and you will start getting greater freedom in muscle movement. (by the way, my massage therapist said that myofacia simply means the facia (a thin skin) around each muscle or fiber in the muscle. The deeper you go the more you get relief to the muscles burried deeper in the body. If you can only do surface massage, this still can help give some relief and if done right should help the lymph system which is very close to the surface. I really believe 1 or 2 massages a week is important both for the pain and just feeling good. My guy said it is important to be consistant and do it every week. On rolfing--don't get me wrong. I strongly believe in it for long term well being, especially if you have a lot of early life trama. But neither massage or rolfing will cure fibromyalgia. It just helps pain management (once you can stand the pain) Phil DWigg54545@... wrote: > Thanks Phil for getting more into an explanation of Rolfing. I have those > sticky muscles you are speaky of. I always say that I feel like glue is in > me. It is the fascia that is created a lot of problems for the fibromyalgia > symptoms that I am having. I feel like concrete in the chest muscles and also > the back. Do you think that Rolfing or massage would be better to start out > with. I heard about Rolfing in a book and a Dr. with fibro did not to much > recommend it but I had thought about trying it anyway, what do ya > think,thanks....T > > p.s. glad to hear that your wife did find some relief though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 15, 2000 Report Share Posted December 15, 2000 Hi, I'm fairly new here, and have just been lurking a little. I bought a new machine called a chi machine and have been using it for about two weeks now. Since you mentioned it, I did notice the first time I used it that the pressure in my chest lifted. I don't know if this machine is going to help in the long term or not. Supposed to oxygenate the body and I'm desperate enough to try anything. I like massage if done right not too hard, but have had trouble getting anyone scheduled for it. Going to a chiropractor has helped my neck a lot. Has anyone had any experience with this chi machine?? I'm going to keep using it for at least six months every day, I think, and hope to see a change. Suppose it would help to keep a diary to keep track to see if there was any improvements. Easy to forget. This machine is supposed to help the lymph system too, but I really don't understand that part of it at all. Thanks, Hope you both don't mind my asking questions. Susie Susie > - > > The deeper you go the more you get relief to the muscles burried > deeper in the > body. If you can only do surface massage, this still can help > give some relief > and if done right should help the lymph system which is very close to the > surface. > > >Phil > > > > DWigg54545@... wrote: > > > Thanks Phil for getting more into an explanation of Rolfing. I > have those > > sticky muscles you are speaky of. I always say that I feel like > glue is in > > me. It is the fascia that is created a lot of problems for the > fibromyalgia > > symptoms that I am having. I feel like concrete in the chest > muscles and also > > the back. > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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