| Structural Integration (Rolfing)
Unlike most systems of body manipulation, which are concerned with the
muscular system or the skeletal systems or both, structural integration
focuses on the fascias, which are sheets of connective tissue. Ida Rolf,
whose work was the foundation of the various systems of structural integration,
noted that while bones support the body and muscles connect the bones.
It is the enwrapping fascias that support and hold the muscle-bone combinations
in place. Rolf's second precept was that the fascias would maintain not
only the normal relationship of bone and muscle but also whatever postural
misalignment the body might adopt. This misalignment could incorporate
effects of trauma as well as poor posture. Later theorists have used renowned
architect and designer Buckminster Fuller's "tensegrity mast" as an explanatory
model for the relationship of the bones and fascias. In this structure,
none of the solid elements are connected directly together but are held
by tensioned wires. The structure becomes a model for the body if the
solid segments are called the bones and the flexible wires are called
the fascias (Robie, 1977).~When the body attempts to distribute the stress
of an injury, the result is likely to be shortened and thickened fascias,
which may in turn lead to symptoms somewhere other than the site of the
original trauma. Structural integration is a system to "unwind" and stretch
the distorted fascias back to their normal condition, thereby allowing
the bones and muscles to come back to normal alignment and the body to
return to normal functioning. Structural integration, or "Rolfing," involves
stretching the fascia sheaths by applying sliding pressure to the affected
area with fingers, thumbs, and occasionally elbows. In its early days,
the process was known to be quite painful, but later refinements in technique
have made Rolfing considerably more comfortable. Rolf postulated that
the plasticity of the fascias in the body could offset the aging process
(Rolf, 1973). Research in Rolfing has suggested beneficial results with
cerebral palsy in children (Perry et al., 1981), state-trait anxiety (i.e.,
a person's current anxiety state or level is measured against his or her
anxiety traits) (Weinberg and Hunt, 1979), the stress and symptoms of
lower back pain and whiplash (Rolf, 1977), and changes in parasympathetic
tone (degree of vigor and tension of muscles innervated by parasympathetic
nerves) ~(Cottingham et al., 1988a, 1988b). Changes in psychological and
physiological function have also been measured (Silverman et al., 1973).
The Rolf Institute, the first school to teach the principles of structural
integration, offers a post-bachelor's degree training program requiring
28 weeks of classroom work. Today there are also three other schools based
on Rolf's work and 1,500 practitioners who treat an estimated 150,000
individuals per year. Licensing requirements differ in various States.
Aston patterning, developed by Judith Aston, and Hellerwork, developed
by Joseph Heller, are major offshoots of structural integration. Both
incorporate movement reeducation training to bring the body into fuller
activity and expression
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