Rolfing® was the answer

When I was 13 and again when I was 20 I suffered life threatening injuries to my neck, upper thoracics and lumbars. Being young I recovered and was able to continue with my life. In my early thirties I started to work as a beekeeaper, soon after I developed severe lower back pain which continued on and off until I was in my early fifties.

During that time I practiced yoga and was generally active as an organic orchardist. By the time I was in my early fifties the pain in my lower back had become chronic and was aggravated by pain in my upper back and neck. I tried various treatments outside the medical system in which I have no faith due to very unsatisfactory outcomes from previous contacts. Nor did I take any pain medications.

Eventually a friend suggested I try Rolfing® (also known as Structural Integration - SI) after he had a positive outcome from his experience. Generally Rolfing® involves receiving a ten series. I had a ten series and at the end was free from pain for the first time in about twenty years. After about six months I began to feel a much lower level of pain so started getting more sessions dealing with the specific pains from Structural Integration practitioners.

I was so impressed by the results of the treatments that I decided to make a change in careers and become a practitioner of Structural Integration. I have been practicing full time since 2007. Structural Integration works on the connective tissue (CT) system of the body. CT makes up the structure of the body giving it form, function and flexibility. Balanced tensions in the CT move the body. When the tensions become unbalanced the body ceases to move easily and adhesions tend to develop in the muscles and in the septa between them. When muscles loose their range of motion (ROM) they are unable to relax and become sore. SI works by identifying and releasing these adhesions thereby restoring range of motion and relieving pain.

Over the years I have been practicing I have been able to help many clients move from lives of chronic pain to a pain free existence. The pain experiences come from neural impingements such as sciatic pain, scar tissue resulting from old injuries which impedes ROM and so on. I have learned Cranial Sacral Therapy (CST) which allows me to help clients with headaches and other neural problems. The success of the work has allowed me to earn a good living helping clients.

I am a member of a community of alternative health providers. In Canada we are neither recognized or regulated. Because of this lack of recognition we do not receive referrals from the conventional medical community. Extended medical insurance plans will not cover the work. As a result many people suffering from chronic pain are unable to access modalities which can give them relief from pain since they have to pay for our treatments out of their own pockets.

It is my hope that this consultation will result in policy makers expanding their understanding of what constitutes effective pain management. Too often a client tells me that a medical practitioner has told them that there is nothing that can be done for soft tissue injuries other than offering pain medication. This is frustrating since the work I and other practitioners do is effective and has no negative side effects.