Crossing the Bridge from Traditional Healthcare to Healing

This month’s article focuses on the practice of healing and wellness that addresses the whole human in an integrated, holistic way, focuses on the root causes of any health challenges, and includes the full range of treatment choices.

Healthcare Treatment Options

In today’s world western medicine offers four options for healthcare delivery:

ConventionalMedicalCare– A system in which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery.

ComplementaryCare— When non-mainstream practices are used together with conventional medicine. Complementary physical and/or psychological approaches include tai chi, yoga, massage therapy, spinal manipulation, art therapy, music therapy, dance, and mindfulness-based stress reduction.

AlternativeCare— When non-mainstream practices are used instead of conventional medicine. Alternative care options include Acupuncture, Rolfing, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, and Chinese/Oriental Medicine.

Chiropractics, Therapeutic Massage, and Rolfing

Rolfing is named for its creator, Dr. Ida Rolf, a biochemist from New York City who studied alternative methods of body structure and healing beginning in the 1920s. Dr. Rolf posited that the body’s aches and pains were caused by basic imbalances in posture and alignment, which were produced and reinforced over time by gravity and learned responses among muscles and fascia, the sheath-like connective tissue that surrounds and binds muscles together. The focus on manipulating fascia is part of what distinguishes Rolfing from chiropractic, which deals with bones, and from therapeutic massages, which work on muscles.

Rolfing and massage differ most significantly in one important way: massage is great for short-term relaxation or relief of pain, while Rolfing changes the structure of the body to provide long-lasting ease and relief. Rolfing and Chiropractic are a bit different. The overall goal in Chiropractic treatment is to work with the spine and other bony structures to release and treat mechanical restrictions, which directly or indirectly influence the function of the nervous system and therefore overall health. This is like Rolfing in the sense that it changes the structure of the body to improve overall health. While Chiropractic works more directly on the vertebrae of the spine, Rolfing works on the connective tissue (called the fascia) which surrounds all your muscles, organs, and joints, and creates the overall structure in your body. Rolfing Therapy corrects the alignment of the bones and the function of the nervous system to improve overall health.

The popularity of Complementary and Alternative options like Rolfing has grown especially among a younger audience in their 20s and 30s, due in part to an endorsement on the Oprah Winfrey show by cardiac surgeon, Dr. Mehmet Oz. while noting that “a general perception by the public that taking medications for discomfort is not giving you the panacea benefits that you would desire.”

Massage, Chiropractic, and Rolfing all have great benefits. If you seek temporary relaxation, try massage. If you’re looking for adjustments to your spine, take a shot with Chiropractic. If you’re looking to create

long-term change in your body structure, undertake Rolfing therapy.

To learn more about healthcare treatment options and Rolfing Therapy visit: https://bobalonzi-advanced-rolfer.com/and call for an evaluation appointment.