This faith is not in things, but people. 

It’s not in the shareholders of the stock of Pfizer. Counting success by spam, they win.
It’s not in Cymbalta: it may break the pain cycle, and be a miracle, but at some point, you are going to have to deal with the heart of the problem.

The core of the human pain problem does not, except in rare circumstances, lie in chemistry. That said, my lifemate suffers from Reiter’s Syndrome, and would be immobilized without the chemistry (sulfasalazine) that keeps his immune system from attacking his joints.

Keep in mind, that I get it.

Now, here is another story:

When he was first having problems with his hip, I could help him with it. I threw all my training to the wind, and just worked with this body I knew so well. I could keep him out of pain, for weeks at a time.

Desperate for more information, I bought him some time on the table of Dr Peter Schwind, partner in the Munich Group, teacher for the Rolf Institute in Munich and a favorite teacher and colleague.

Peter worked, and sweated, as everyone does who tries to meet my mate, flesh-to-flesh, and told us that we needed to see an orthopedic doctor and get some Xrays.  My heart sank, and I did what my teacher told me.

Weeks later, in the office of an orthopedist I later did the 10 sessions of Rolfing for, we looked at X-rays showing fast advancing osteoarthritis of the hip.

Abused bone from some over-high helicopter jumps glowed white.. we had long silent moments. The orthopedist gave us a referral to the best orthopedic surgeon in Western Europe.  Some months later, I was sleeping in a hospital room next to my husband, as he recovered from hip replacement surgery. The Germans did an inconceivably good job, he is walking and hiking now, as well or better than I am.

Now, we are working on re-attaining his prior high level of function in martial arts. We train together, I see what isn’t working, and I help him with it. 

I could never do anything about the bone that didn’t work any more. I had to wait for the surgeon to saw it out, and deal with the aftermath. 

The aftermath is not small, many small functions he took for granted, are no longer there. But I push him to try it, and I get in with my own hands and free surgical scarring, so that he has more freedom all the time. I also help him understand, where he needs to work through his weakness and become stronger. 

This is what I do for my clients. 

I sent a Navy saturation diver for a hip replacement last year, when I realized that I could see him every three days, or help him get “back on his feet”. 

I just wish I could have been there, to help him get back to higher function. 
I’ll jump on any chance to do that, for anyone recovering from joint surgery. It’s such a chance to begin again.

The problem is that modern medicine only brings you  back to functionality. They treat everyone likc American couch potatoes. 

There are exceptions. If you can’t get what you need from your PT, maybe you should give advanced bodywork a try. 

Rolfing, Feldenkrais, Alexander, it’s all good. 

Just don’t let yourself be limited by your insurance policy. 
Remember that they only connect with agencies who give them kickback.

Bodyworkers just trade on what works.

 I am not into magical thinking, I want to know, prove, and see what works. Part of my training heritage is the intellectual German tradition, gifted to me by my teachers Robert Schliep PhD (Ulm University) and Peter Schwind PhD, a student of the French osteopath Jean-Pierre Barrall. 

Part of the task is, defining how what we do works. 

www.fasciaresearch.com

Then, how does what we do, fit into other disciplines?

www.somatics.de

Now, why isn’t the Rolf Institute publicizing this research like crazy? I know they are financing it. 

Why aren’t we as well known as chiropractic and acupuncture?
Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to keep explaining what we do again and again? 

I am afraid the RI will continue to fail the membership.  Information dispersal will be up to members who know how to do it for themselves. New thinking is needed to get the message out there about what we do and how effective it is on so many levels. 

Membership fees will continue to go to ineffective enforcement of trademarks, halfhearted publicity attempts only made effective by member successes, and babysitting by members interested in effectively copyedited press releases who make a stink.

The membership is long overdue for a revolution. Sure the Science Rolfers and the Postural Coaches and the “Energy Rolfers” (I hear Ida spinning grouchily in her grave) will protest, but no gods will help us, if we cannot find a direction. 

 Clay Cox has a point. 

It’s time the “mechanics” had their day, and their way. We solve problems for people, and then  people pay attention to this thing we call Rolfing. We solve problems of soft tissue, joints, and alignment as no one else can. We pay attention not just to gravity, but to human beings dealing with it. 

Dr IPR made it work, and so can we. 

We just need to find a way to survive, and not be held back by the past.

I’m a mechanic for myoskeletal dysfunction. If you ‘ve got a systemic problem, if you really need a joint replaced or you’ve just had a major vertebral dysfunction and you can’t walk or control your bladder, I’m not the one to go to. See an orthopedist in your area. Get a facet block. If it’s soft tissue, I can try to help with postural coaching and manual therapy.

On the other hand, if you’ve had nagging back pain since a fall, if you have stiffness from an old injury or dysfunction in your joints, from use, accident, abuse or adventure, maybe you should see a a mechanic like me.

I’m not going to recommend anything I haven’t tried myself, or haven’t seen scientific evidence for. I do what I do because it works for me, and I see the results in my clients. 

I’m going to work on putting some research out here in the coming days. If you trip over this blog and have questions, just ask! 

I’m curious to know what you want to know.