What is Fascia?

Fascia is the network of tough connective tissue that spreads on and throughout the body in a three-dimensional web without interruption or discontinuity. Fascia surrounds every muscle, bone, nerve, blood vessel and organ of the body, all the way down to the cellular level. It maintains a state of reciprocal tension throughout the body that is responsible for each individual’s unique shape, posture, balance and the position of vital organs.

Malfunction of the fascial system due to trauma, posture, or inflammation can create a binding down and immobility in the fascia, which can result in abnormal pressure on nerves, muscles, bones, or organs. Fascial strains can slowly dehydrate and tighten, causing the body to lose it adaptive capacity and significantly alter organ and tissue physiology. Flexibility and spontaneity of movement are lost and this in turn can create chronic pain or limitations that are often expressed as seemingly unrelated symptoms far from the site of the actual problem.

What is Rolfing Structural Integration®?

Developed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf in the 1940’s, Rolfing Structural Integration®, or Rolfing®, is a form of bodywork that combines directed movement by the client with hands-on manipulation by the therapist to release restrictions in the body in a progressive and cumulative manner. The goal of Rolfing® is to change the body’s physical structure in order to help it reclaim its optimum natural alignment and balance in gravity. Rolfing® works directly on the most malleable structural element in the human body, the network of soft tissue called fascia that maintains reciprocal tension throughout the body and in fact, creates each individual’s unique shape.

What is Soft Tissue Mobilization and Myofascial Release?

Soft Tissue Mobilization and Myofascial Release are the heart of Rolfing Structural Integration. These techniques involve gentle pressure on the appropriate fascial layer in order to hydrate and increase both flexibility and length in a restricted or bound area of the fascial network.

When the location of a fascial restriction is determined through visual analysis and palpation, gentle pressure is applied in its direction. This has the effect of engaging the elastocollagenous fibers of the fascia and pulling them straight. This has a springy feel. Continuation of this pressure will allow the fibers to stretch or lengthen until the firm barrier of the collagenous component is reached. A sustained gentle tractioning force on this layer elicits heat. This in turn has the effect of making the collagen more fluid, which increases blood flow to the affected area, enhances lymphatic drainage of toxic wastes, realigns fascial planes, and ultimately, restores a normal functional range of motion.

What is Muscle Energy Technique?

Muscle Energy Technique (MET) is a technique that was developed in 1948 by Fred Mitchell, Sr, D.O. It is a form of manual therapy, widely used in Osteopathy, that uses a muscle’s own energy in the form of gentle isometric contractions to relax and lengthen muscles and release skeletal joints. Unlike static stretching which is a passive technique in which the therapist does all the work, MET is an active technique in which the client is also an active participant.

Muscle Energy Techniques can be used for any condition in which the goal is to cause relaxation and lengthening of the muscles and improve range of motion (ROM) in joints. Muscle energy techniques can be applied safely to almost any joint or tissue area in the body.