Is Rolfing painful?
There is a widespread misconception that Rolfing is painful. Indeed I have met clients who have the idea that the treatment is not really Rolfing unless it is painful. My experience of receiving Rolfing is that it can occasionally be uncomfortable, but it is a good feeling of deep tense places being contacted in a beneficial way. The overriding experience of Rolfing should be of its benefits, its releasing of long-held tensions, freeing of movement restrictions and the discovery of new functional and coordinative options.
So how did Rolfing get the reputation of being painful? The explanation I have heard is that some of the first Rolfers perhaps went deep into the myofascial tissues too quickly. This seems to be a reasonable explanation. Rolfing was born in the age of counterculture, a period of spiritual experimentation in the 1960s where some people sought therapies for a cathartic release (Primal Therapy, Gestalt, Bioenergetics). It may have been tempting for new Rolfers to give in to some clients’ demands for deep and uncomfortable bodywork that made them feel as if they were exorcising their inner demons.
The fact is that the practitioner’s pacing of the depth of touch, the speed at which they make contact through the layers from superficial to deep, is extremely important in a Rolfing treatment. The superficial layers are addressed in the early sessions of the Rolfing Series in order to prepare the body for the deeper ‘core’ work. In order to affect the deepest layers – muscle groups, membranes, tendons and ligaments – the practitioner must touch with great sensitivity and calibrate the pace and pressure while being attentive to the moment-by-moment response of the tissues. Ongoing monitoring of the client’s attitudinal response to the touch and appropriate adaptation to feedback are key.
Manipulating the myofascial system of the body is not just a mechanical process, but one that requires a somatic dialogue with the client’s nervous system, where the quality of touch is modulated according to the response felt in the client’s connective issues. The practitioner must hold a safe therapeutic container that allows space for the co-regulation and entrainment that can happen between two nervous systems in proximity. The safety of the therapeutic container can be compromised if the client withdraws or dissociates because of pain.
There is a humorous anecdote that applies to those early years of Rolfing. One of the first Rolfing teachers shared a clinic with several treatment rooms and a common waiting room where one of the other practitioners was a Primal Scream Therapist. Primal Scream Therapy, based on the work of Arthur Janov, sometimes involved scream-like releases in order to express repressed emotions. It is completely different to Rolfing. As clients were waiting for their Rolfing session they heard loud screams which they erroneously attributed to the Rolfing rather than the Primal Scream Therapy – and this contributed to the rumour of Rolfing being painful…
Let’s be clear. Rolfing does go deep into the myofascial system and this sometimes involves substantial pressure into the muscles, fascia, tendons and ligaments of the body. But good Rolfing does this without compromising a client’s feeling of safety. A good Rolfer is able to use strong contact with sensitivity, without causing pain.
There is a difference between pain and intensity. A client in pain will contract the tissues and withdraw from the touch whereas a client who experiences the touch as intense but beneficial will be able to stay present without withdrawing. Some of the areas that are contacted in a Rolfing session have been held in tension for many years and releasing this type of chronic tension can sometimes feel uncomfortable, although this feeling can be minimised by working with breath and relaxation, for example breathing into the area being touched. But it is the kind of “pain” that feels useful, that it is resolving something deep in your body that rarely gets touched – the kind of touch that we Rolfers say “hurts good’.
Another important factor in a good Rolfing treatment is the ability of the practitioner to vary the touch according to what is needed, sometimes light, sometimes deep. But always carefully applied, and always respecting the client’s limits. A Rolfing session should be a negotiation, not an imposition. I say a version of the following to my clients: “It is very important that you feel comfortable in the treatment. If you feel something is too much, let me know and I will back off. Sometimes I may take my hands off and we can work out a better way to contact the tissue.”
Pain tolerance boundaries may occasionally be challenged but so long as a safe therapeutic environment has been established this should be no problem. Trust is paramount and foundational to the Rolfer-client therapeutic relationship.
How can Rolfing help pain?
Broadly speaking there are two categories of pain, acute and chronic.
Acute pain is where there is a clear injury to the body which is fairly recent. With an acute injury it is normally inadvisable to touch the area directly, unless the touch is very light, because of the risk of further damage to the injured tissues. It is important to respect the inherent rest and repair mechanisms of the body. In this situation, however, Rolfing can improve the body’s adaptation to the asymmetries and imbalances caused by the injury. Working on the muscles around the injured area can help a lot.
In the winter of 1994 I turned up for the second Rolfing session of my original Rolfing Series in Vermont having badly sprained my right ankle in a skiing accident. My Rolfer, Thomas Walker, worked as if it were a normal second session on my left foot, but used extremely light touch around my injured right ankle. His touch had a comforting, embracing quality to it which felt as if he was directing warm energy into my ankle. The effect during the session was reassuring and empowering. I left the session feeling more secure on my feet and somehow uplifted as if the ankle’s healing process had been boosted.
Rolfing can also be very helpful in reducing discomfort, pain and stiffness caused by overuse of muscles and tendons, sometimes called tendinitis or myalgia. This kind of pain commonly occurs in the front of the thigh, lower or upper back, top of the shoulders or the neck, but can occur in any area of the body. The reason Rolfing can be so effective for this type of pain is because Rolfers are trained to understand how local muscles belong in a global dynamic of tension and myofascial chains throughout the body (tensegrity). In such cases it is usually important to treat the overused muscle directly, in order to reduce the excess tension. But this alone is often insufficient without considering the knock-on effect of the therapeutic intervention. For example, if you have a pain in the front of your right thigh, there is a higher chance of a good result if the practitioner assesses and treats the feet and hips (of both legs) as well as the thigh itself in order to create balance around the injury and reintegration of the muscle within the context of dynamic equilibrium in the rest of the body.
Chronic pain lasts for longer, and is typically defined as lasting for more than 3-6 months. Chronic pain can be in the same areas as pain caused by overuse, such as lower back and neck, but can be more persistent and difficult to resolve. Nevertheless Rolfing has a high success rate in resolving this category of pain. Many clients have come to me for Rolfing treatment having tried various other forms of treatment with limited or no success, yet Rolfing manages to get a long-term reduction or complete resolution of their pain. The reason for this success rate is, in my opinion, the inherent thoroughness of the Rolfing Series to treat the affected area within the context of overall body integration, coordination and function.
Ida Rolf said “where you think it is, it ain’t,” meaning that the prime contributor to this kind of chronic pain can be a muscle or myofascial unit far afield from the area where the pain is felt. The Rolfing Series is a powerful treatment for organising the whole body, which in turn can address the hidden, not-so-obvious causes of muscular pain. Years of experience in treating this kind of pain can also be an important factor.
Another type of chronic pain includes conditions such as fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease (IBS), osteoarthritis, migraines, neuropathy, repetitive strain injury (RSI). These types of conditions can be especially difficult to resolve, although some clients have found significant relief. In my experience stress is an important factor in such conditions and treatment involves coming to a clear understanding of a client’s lifestyle and how they deal with stress, and supporting the client to improve their situation. It can also be helpful to consider psychological and emotional components relevant to such chronic pain conditions and sometimes having a simple conversation about this can be helpful.
For example, I had a client who suffered from persistent RSI who became pain free whenever she visited her home country Germany during the holidays, where she would make sure not to use the computer at all. However, when she arrived back at the office in London the symptoms of RSI appeared almost immediately, even before she started using the computer again. The mere expectation of using the computer triggered a biological stress response in her body, a nocebo effect.
A holistic approach to healing is important in such cases and the client may need to tweak certain areas of their life, such as nutrition, exercise and sedentary lifestyle, all of which can contribute to the successful resolution of pain. In some cases I recommend other therapists, such as nutritionists, yoga or pilates teachers and will also share personal experience of mindfulness, meditation or breath work as effective ways to reduce stress.
The Rolfing Series is a good foundation in treating complex cases, but I also find that the careful light touch of Craniosacral Therapy is an excellent additional way to treat these problems by positively affecting the nervous system’s stress response, as if teaching the body to relax properly. Rolfing Movement can also be helpful by fine-tuning perception and paying attention to how a client orients to their environment.
In summary, Rolfing does not need to be a painful experience and it should, and often does have remarkable results in reducing pain so that the client’s corporeal experience of life is more enjoyable and rich in sensation. One of the gifts of Rolfing for many people is a newfound curiosity in their body and how it works and an increased sense of agency in their physical existence, which can in turn improve self image. Lastly, Rolfing works best when it is experienced as a cooperation between Rolfer and client. So if you are frequently uncomfortable in your Rolfing sessions, simply talk to your Rolfer about it so that you can find better way to work together.