Is Rolfing the Next Big Alternative Therapy?

Practitioners of this chiropractic and massage mash-up would like to think so.

Getting Rolfed sounds vaguely unpleasant and distinctly alternative—like one of those “medical” treatments that, while fashionable, is mostly hocus-pocus. Truth is, Rolfing is as old as Pilates and shares a similar philosophy. 

A mash-up of chiropractic and massage, Rolfing addresses the body’s structural misalignments by targeting fasciae, the bands of connective tissue around muscles and organs. There are three kinds of fasciae—superficial, visceral and deep—and while each has a slightly different function, all can be damaged. “Fascia is like the body’s inner leotard, and where there are stresses, it may begin to rip or tear,” says Chris Key, a certified Rolfer who practices in Media, at the University of Delaware, and in Washington, D.C. 

Unlike a leotard, though, fascia can mend itself. But that mending can go into overdrive, thickening fasciae, impeding movement and causing pain. Rolfers target those fasciae, breaking them down until they get to a normal level.

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If that sounds like it hurts, well, many people say it does. But done correctly, Rolfing should not cause pain. “It’s more the foreignness of the feelings as your body adapts to the treatments,” says Robert Toporek, who practices in Audubon. 

Those treatments are all done with a Rolfer’s hands—no special gadgetry is involved. There are 10 treatments, and they proceed in a specific order established by the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration. The first session addresses shoulders and the pelvic girdle. The second focuses on the feet and lower legs as they connect you to the ground and provide support. And so it continues, with Rolfers working on aligning—or realigning—the body. “It feels like someone is unwinding you,” Toporek says. “People feel that they can breathe better. There’s a decrease in tension, an increase in circulation, and a big increase in range of motion in the arms, shoulders and hips.”

Toporek and Key have Rolfed infants, seniors, and people suffering from severe scoliosis and other disorders. They also work with athletes. Toporek treated former Flyers Gordie and Mark Howe, both of whom had dents and dings from playing in the NHL. 

But it doesn’t take that much to cause damage. “The habitual stress of sitting in front of a computer monitor all day can be just as detrimental as a hard fall,” says Key. “The head weighs about 10 pounds, so it’s like having a bowling ball on your shoulders leaning forward. That’s a lot of strain that Rolfing can help undo.”

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