Rolfing
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Rolfing (Template:IPAc-en)<ref>"Rolfing". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.</ref> is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf (1896–1979) as Structural Integration.<ref name=recipe1/><ref name=Sherman>Template:Cite journal</ref> Rolfing is marketed with unproven claims of various health benefits,<ref name=ee150/><ref name="acs">Template:Cite book</ref> is recognized as pseudoscience<ref name="pop">Template:Citation: "The idea of vital energy... does not correspond to known facts of how the human body operates. Similarly, there is absolutely no support in psychological literature for the idea of traumatic experiences being repressed in the form of muscle memory, and so the basic ideas of Rolfing certainly fall into the category of pseudoscience."</ref> and is generally characterized as quackery.<ref name=quack/> It is based on Rolf's ideas about how the human body's "energy field" can benefit when aligned with the Earth's gravitational field.<ref name=gospel>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=carroll/>
Rolfing is typically delivered as a series of ten hands-on physical manipulation sessions sometimes called "the recipe". Practitioners combine superficial and deep manual therapy with movement prompts.<ref name="Deutsch" /> The process is sometimes painful.<ref name=acs/> The safety of Rolfing has not been confirmed.<ref name=aus17/> The principles of Rolfing contradict established medical knowledge,<ref name="clow">Template:Cite book</ref> and there is no good evidence Rolfing is effective for the treatment of any health condition.<ref name="aus17" />
Conceptual basisEdit
Professor of Complementary Medicine Edzard Ernst has offered this definition: "Rolfing is a system of bodywork invented by Ida Pauline Rolf (1896–1979) employing deep manipulation of the body's soft tissue allegedly to realign and balance the body's myofascial structures."<ref name=ee150>Template:Cite book</ref> Rolfing is based on the unproven belief that such alignment results in improved movement,<ref name="Jones">Template:Cite journal</ref> breathing,<ref name="ee150" /><ref name="Houglum" /><ref name="Gale Mental" /> pain reduction,<ref name="ee150" /><ref name="acs" /> stress reduction,<ref name="ee150" /><ref name="acs" /> and emotional changes.<ref name="ee150" /><ref name="carroll" /><ref name="Jones" />
Rolf described the body as organized around an axis perpendicular to the earth, pulled downward by gravity, and she believed the function of the body was optimal when it was aligned with that pull. In her view, gravity tends to shorten fascia, leading to disorder of the body's arrangement around its axis and creating imbalance, inefficiency in movement, and pain.<ref name="Houglum">Template:Cite book</ref> Rolfers aim to lengthen the fascia in order to restore the body's arrangement around its axis and facilitate improved movement.<ref name="Houglum"/> Rolf also discussed this in terms of "energy" and said:
Rolfers make a life study of relating bodies and their fields to the earth and its gravity field, and we so organize the body that the gravity field can reinforce the body's energy field. This is our primary concept.<ref name=rolf1976>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=carroll/><ref name=ee150/>
The manipulation is sometimes referred to as a type of bodywork, or as a type of massage.<ref name="Sherman"/><ref name= "Levine">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name= "Cassar">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Gale Mental">Template:Cite book</ref> Some osteopaths were influenced by Rolf,<ref name=riggs>Template:Cite book</ref> and some of her students became teachers of massage, including one of the founders of myofascial release.<ref name= "Knaster">Template:Cite book</ref>
Rolf claimed to have found an association between emotions and the soft tissue: "Rolfing is not primarily a psychotherapeutic approach to the problems of humans, but [...] many people insist on so regarding it. Rolfing is an approach to the personality through the myofascial collagen components of the physical body."<ref name=ipr>Ida Rolf quoted in Template:Cite book</ref> She claimed Rolfing could balance the mental and emotional aspects of subjects and that "the amazing psychological changes that appeared in Rolfed individuals were completely unexpected."<ref name=ipr/> Rolfers suggest their manipulations can cause the release of painful repressed memories.<ref name="contro" /> Rolfers also hold that by manipulating the body they can bring about changes in personality; for example, teaching somebody to walk with confidence will make them a more confident person.<ref name=elpsy>Template:Cite book</ref> The connection between physical structure and psychology has not been proven by scientific studies.<ref name=carroll>Template:Cite book</ref>
TechniqueEdit
Rolfing is typically performed in ten sessions, sometimes called "the recipe", which claim to reorganize the body's connective tissues.<ref name="recipe1">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="broc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The first three sessions focus on superficial tissues, the next four focus on deeper tissues and specifically the pelvis, and the final sessions address the whole body.<ref name="Deutsch">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Houglum" /><ref name="Levine" /> A session typically lasts between 60 and 90 minutes. The recipient wears undergarments<ref name="contro">Template:Cite book</ref> and moves between the positions of lying on a table, sitting, and standing.<ref name="riggs" /> Rolfing treatments can be painful and cause soreness.<ref name="acs" />
Effectiveness and receptionEdit
Because of its dependence on vitalistic concepts and its unevidenced propositions about the connection between physical manipulation and psychology, Rolfing is classified as a pseudoscience, and is generally seen as quackery.<ref name="pop" /><ref name=quack>Template:Cite book</ref>
Writing for Science-Based Medicine, lawyer Jann Bellamy writes that in the United States of America the public is inadequately protected from bodywork practices such as Rolfing because of the lack of independent oversight; instead regulation is carried out within a "closed loop" system by such bodies as the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.<ref name="jann">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Note in the US the Rolf Institute is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork as a continuing education provider; see: {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2015 the Australian Government's Department of Health published a review of 17 alternative therapies, including Rolfing, which concluded no clear evidence of effectiveness was found.<ref name="aus17">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
- Template:Lay source</ref> Accordingly, in 2017, the Australian government named Rolfing as a practice that would not qualify for insurance subsidy, to ensure the best use of insurance funds.<ref name="nosubsidy">Template:Cite journal</ref> Proponents of Rolfing claim it can be used to alleviate pain.<ref name="Thompson2015">Template:Cite book</ref> However, Rolfing's focus on appropriate "alignment" of structures of the body does not reflect modern science about pain.<ref name="Ernst">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Moseley2013">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The American Cancer Society says the deep soft tissue manipulations such as those used in Rolfing are a concern if practiced on people with cancer near tumor sites.<ref name="acs" />
In 2010 The New York Times reported that Rolfing was enjoying a "resurgence" following an endorsement from Mehmet Oz on The Oprah Winfrey Show.<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2019 a taxonomy of "internet scams" identified Rolfing as having been used for deceptive claims about alleviating gastrointestinal problems by "restructuring" muscle tissue.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
HistoryEdit
Ida Rolf began working on clients in New York City in the 1940s with the premise that the human structure could be organized "in relation to gravity". She developed structural integration with one of her sons and by the 1950s she was teaching her work across the United States.<ref name="Salvo">Template:Cite book</ref> In the mid-1960s she began teaching at Esalen Institute, where she gathered a loyal following of students and practitioners.<ref name="stillerman2014">Template:Cite book</ref> Esalen was the epicenter of the Human Potential Movement, allowing Rolf to exchange ideas with many of their leaders, including Fritz Perls.<ref name=Claire /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Rolf incorporated a number of ideas from other areas including osteopathic manipulation, cranial osteopathy, hatha yoga, and the general semantics of Alfred Korzybski.<ref name=Jacobson>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1971 she founded the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The school has been based in Boulder, Colorado, since 1972, and as of 2010 included five institutes worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The field of Structural IntegrationEdit
Since Rolf's death, the field of Structural Integration has branched into various schools.<ref name=recipe1/><ref name=Jacobson/> Of these schools, the Rolf Institute is the only one with the use of the trademarked terms "Rolfing" and "Certified Rolfer".<ref name=recipe1/> Other programs of Structural Integration certify "Practitioners of the Rolf Method of Structural Integration" including the Guild for Structural Integration,<ref name= "Claire">Template:Cite book</ref> Hellerwork Structural Integration,<ref name=Levine /><ref name=Knaster /><ref name= "Claire"/> Aston Patterning,<ref name=Knaster /><ref name= "Claire"/> SOMA,<ref name=Knaster /> KMI,<ref name=recipe1/> and a dozen other Structural Integration programs.<ref name=recipe1/> A professional membership organization exists called the International Association of Structural Integration, which has certified practitioners by exam since 2007.<ref name=Jacobson/>
In some states such as New Hampshire and Nevada, there is a separate license for SI.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Internationally, some countries have a Board of Health that regulates bodywork while others don't. Four Canadian provinces require licensure for bodywork practitioners.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Switzerland has separate licensure for complementary therapies including Structural Integration.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Pierre Bernard (yogi) – an influence on Rolf<ref name=Jacobson/>