Visceral Manipulation in
Structural Work

Thomas Gordy, Rolf Practitioner

The "viscera" are our organs. These include the liver, stomach, GI (gastro-intestinal), lungs, etc. In structural work we are trying to effect the alignment, balance, and kinetic behavior of the body. To actually work holistically through the body, we must incorporate work with the viscera of the body, otherwise, we are not actually working with the body as a whole. Rolf practitioners over the past two decades have come to appreciate the major influence that visceral restrictions have on the structure of the body including holding patterns in the musculature and fascia of the body. In short, the body gives the viscera PRIORITY in the hierarchy of survival. In other words, the viscera come first, and everything else comes second. Because of this, restrictions in the viscera will cause the external musculature to brace or hold around a visceral restriction ñ the body will shape itself, even to the point of misalignment and restricted movement, to protect and assist a restricted organ. Thus any restrictions in the visceral fascia are directly transferred to the myofascial (muscle and fascial) and skeletal structures of the torso. Almost all structural/alignment deficiencies within a body will have a visceral factor.

In general there is a high degree of elastic component to the visceral fascia, given that the viscera needs to move and shift with the body in balance and movement. A fascial restriction within the viscera will thus interfere greatly with the ability of the body to move in that area. The body will go even further in protection of the viscera. For instance, a restriction in the stomach will cause the myofascial and skeletal structures to bend and twist around the stomach to put the stomach in a position that creates ease for the stomach tissue and creates an optimum position for the stomachís function. It is simply a response to the hierarchy of mechanisms for survival; stomach function is more important to the body than joint alignment. The resulting twisting and misplacement of the myofascial structures bracing the restricted organ thus results in pain, lack of movement, and a hardening of the myofascial tissues. Until the visceral problems are resolved, the changes to the external myofascial structure will not hold.

Hence we can see the importance of visceral work, especially if we want our changes to last. In working with the viscera, we are working to remove visceral restrictions within the fascia of the viscera and re-establish the natural movement, or motility, of the organ. In effect, we are working on the "architecture" of the viscera, to free it while simultaneously freeing the external myofascia that seeks to hold around the restricted organ. While visceral work often results in better function of the organ itself, our main goal remains the structure of the body.

Due to the high degree of elasticity in visceral tissue, working with the viscera requires predominantly indirect work (taking the tissue into the restriction). Indirect work here is both gentle and subtle, often causing the client to fall asleep. Do not be fooled however, without question these gentle and subtle visceral techniques have a profound influence on the bodyís myofascial and skeletal structure.

Rolf Structural Integration and Athletic Performance

Thomas Gordy, Rolf Practitioner

 How does Rolf Structural Integration (“SI”) enhance athletic performance?  The answer is most easily given in one word – balance.  Rolf SI strives to balance the body, but what does that mean exactly?

Rolf SI is very thorough and specific bodywork to balance the musculature and connective tissue (fascia).  A primary consideration of Rolf SI is body alignment.  By freeing and balancing the muscles and fascia of the body, Rolf SI improves the posture, creating greater alignment it in the field of gravity.

The result of this re-posturing and alignment with gravity, the body becomes fluid with the forces of gravity rather than straining against it. Such fluidity greatly increases the efficiency of the body, giving the athlete the reserve strength and power for when they need it.  Secondly, alignment in the field of gravity produces the greatest determinative of athletic success – lift. 

What is lift?  Physics tells us that for every action there is a reaction.  And in the case of gravity, as a foot and leg strike the ground, there is ground force reaction upwards, back into the body.  When this ground force reaction is propelled through an aligned body, it creates a force known as lift, actually helping to lift the body from the earth. With lift, the body moves effortlessly, as if it were lighter.  In an unaligned body this ground force reaction is dissipated and ends up as wasted energy – no lift is created.

Lift is why some runners look like they are floating on air, while others look heavy and earthbound.

With lift comes the added benefit of greater efficiency.  The balanced and aligned body is utilizing ground force reaction to power its movements,

saving muscle effort along with the oxygen and calories needed to make them work.  As a result, the muscles are there for when they are needed – for a burst of speed, a quick jump, or the fight to the finish.

In balancing the body, the musculature is also balanced.  With this balance comes an enhancement in flexibility and strength.  In the body, muscles are broken into agonist/antagonist groups, such as hamstrings and quadriceps.  When one contracts, the other must relax.  If one of these muscle groups is chronically shortened, its antagonist counterpart becomes chronically over-extended.  The result is a reduced ability to both contract and relax either of the two muscle groups, leading to reduced flexibility and strength.  Balancing these two muscle groups allows each group to be at their optimal resting length, which translates into optimal strength (ability to contract) and extensibility (ability to relax and lengthen).

The process of balancing the body also enhances circulation. Circulation is more than just blood and oxygen. It is nutrition at a cellular level. It is life. The primary means of venous return (blood back to the heart) and lymph flow is body movement -- i.e.: muscle action.  Muscles that are chronically short, overextended, or adhered (stuck) to other muscles have a seriously decreased ability to function and move.  Thus, circulatory function is greatly reduced. Removing restrictions in the muscle groups and throughout the body establishes a superior ability for muscles to function, a greater fluidity and an increased range of motion at the joint.   This ability to move and function stimulates circulation globally and particularly in the areas of the body that were previously restricted or held.  Better movement equals greater circulation, which translates into greater health at a cellular level, greater energy, better recovery, and increased vitality.

Balance also means pain reduction. A balanced body is free of the strain caused by misalignment and the force of gravity upon it. For example, we are all too aware that as our heads go forward, our upper backs and necks feel the results as tension and pain. Balance the head and the strain is removed. This principle can be applied to any joint imbalance in the body.

Balance is strength, ease, fluidity, lift, and efficiency.

The Physics of Chronic Pain

Thomas Gordy, Rolf Structural Integration Practitioner

Chronic pain differs from “acute” pain in that it continues to persist long after a trauma or even with no apparent trauma involved.  Why does something hurt?  There may be of course several reasons for pain, but chronic physical problems often are clearly represented by the physics involved.  

First, to understand the physics of pain, one must look beyond the simple explanation and treatment so common in medicine – only treat the area that hurts  -- whether with drugs, lotions, massage, or surgery.  All of which give temporary or unsatisfactory relief.  A larger picture is needed, one that considers the physical relationships that are ongoing in the very complex human body.

Gravity

Our bodies and the laws of physics, at least here on earth, are always subject to gravity.  Hence, a Rolf practitioner’s largest consideration is gravity, the all-powerful force that bears its weight upon us every second of every minute of every day in life.  Because it is such a constant and consistent burden, we forget it is there...as it slowly and surely breaks down our bodies, weighing us down and compressing our structure.

Gravity’s force is straight down.  Thus, in order to withstand the force of gravity, our bodies require an opposing verticality—straight up.   Without that verticality, gravity’s force upon us is manifested as strain.  Strain is typically felt as pain, often of the chronic variety.  But how does strain come about?  In short, strain is most often the result of a misaligned structure struggling to stay upright in the force of gravity

For an easy demonstration of strain and how gravity and misalignment of structure cause strain, hold a broomstick or similar object straight up.  You will notice that when the broomstick is perfectly vertical you can balance it on a fingertip.  The broomstick is in equipoise or balance with gravity and supporting it takes little or no effort.  Tilting the broomstick even 15 degrees away from vertical and you are forced to hold it firmly in your hand, your forearm muscles contracting to hold the broomstick against the force of gravity.  Holding the broomstick for more than a few minutes and those same muscles began to get sore, manifesting the strain that is forced upon them.  The further you tilt the broomstick away from the vertical, the more strain you feel in your arm and hand.

In the same sense, imagine the strain of the upper back and neck as your head begins a forward posture.  As the head comes forward, the muscles of the back and neck have the job holding the head onto the body and fighting the force of gravity, which is pushing the head further down and forward.  Strain manifests in those muscles and temporary relief is provided by drugs, massage on the area, or topical lotions.  But to properly address the strain, the actual cause of the strain must be addressed -- the position of the head.  As Rolf Practitioners, as well as treating directly the painful strained areas of the neck and back, it is of paramount importance that we also look to other areas of the body, unwinding and releasing those not-so-obvious restricted areas to allow the head to resume a more natural and vertical position.  Often, as the head returns to position, the neck and upper back pain disappear and the client finds the resulting ease and absence of pain to simply be magical.  But there is no magic involved—only physics!   

Foundations

Because we are dealing with gravity, Rolf practitioners understand that they job that they do in the upper portions of the body is only as good as the job they do with the foundations – the legs, pelvis (hips), and feet.  Imagine if you will an expensive house built upon a foundation that is crooked and cracked.  In such a case no amount of work done to that house will prevent its slow collapse – it’s windows failing to open and it’s doors ceasing to shut.  Eventually, the house will collapse...it is only a matter of gravity and time.  With the door that won’t close, the first instinct is to believe that the door is the problem.  Then you could of course keep the house working by cutting the door to fit the now crooked structure of the frame. But eventually you’d need to cut the door again as the frame continued it’s bend.  The real problem is of course with the foundation, and until that problem is fixed, the house will always be in a constant state of disrepair.

In the same way the foundations of the body are often responsible for pain in the back, upper torso, head and neck.  These “foundations” are the legs, feet and pelvis (hips), and they require serious attention if any of the “repairs” in the back, head and neck are to stay permanent. 

In this way, the “whole-body” approach is realized and the entire body is re-aligned and balanced to make a stronger and sturdier structure as a whole.  Additionally, this whole-body balance and strength not only relieves strain and pain but also makes the client much more able to deal with the inevitable rigors and traumas of everyday life to come.

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