Difference Between Rolf Structural Integration and Massage
Many people are not clear what this type of bodywork is or does. This page should help bring to light how it is very different than all forms of massage including the deep tissue and sports massage. People often confuse it with massage therapy or other forms of massage, or even confuse it with Chiropractic. This work is in a very different class of bodywork with very different goals than massage therapy.
This therapy is not a massage and it is not legally allowed to be called a massage by the Rolf Practitioner in the State of Indiana. Rolf Practitioners of Structural Integration are 1 of 6 modalities in the State of Indiana not subjected to the massage licensing. You do not have to be a licensed massage therapist to do this work in Indiana.
One significant source of confusion with this work is when some massage therapists say they do this work in their massages when they are not trained in this specialized form of bodywork.
Best way to get the real authentic style of work as taught by the Dr. Ida P. Rolf is to make sure the practitioner’s certificate mentions Ida P. Rolf’s name to know they have proper training and not just a massage certifcate.
Now that most of the confusion from above surrounding this work has been explained, below is the difference between this work and massage.
Rolf Bodywork has similar postural goals as a chiropractor but doe not adjust joints, instead using safe touch combined with therapeutic movement to reeducate the nervous system to have better connective tissue function and to address the cause of pain and dysfunction, not just symptoms.
Rolf Method Structural Integration is a type of bodywork that is a scientifically validated system of body restructuring and movement education that releases your body from lifelong patterns of tension and bracing, permitting gravity to realign you. This type of bodywork, unlike other therapies or forms of care that focus on muscles or only on joints, focuses on connective tissue which connect everything together Connective tissue is made mostly of collagen. It forms in bands beneath the skin to attach, stabilize, enclose, and separate muscles and other internal organs. This work helps correct and rebalance shortened, thickened, and dehydrated connective tissue that restrict and impart joint mobility, muscle function and proper posture alignment.
The goal for most types of massage including deep tissue massage are to bring relaxation to muscles through trigger point work which mostly gives temporary relief from symptoms. Rolf Structural Integration addresses the cause of the pain and tension in the body by focusing on how the network of connective tissue aligns the bone structure, not just about working tight painful muscle knots and trigger point work like in massage. It takes a more holistic approach which results in profound and lasting changes. Rolf Practitioners of Structural Integration have more technical training in anatomy, physiology, Kinesiology and the connective tissue's relationship to postural alignment in gravity than a massage therapist. Rolf bodywork practitioners understand the integrative relationship between the segments of the body and how to work more precisely on a deeper, more intrinsic level to bring about lasting change, not just immediate pleasure. Instead of immediate pleasure, Rolf practitioners help to open stuck areas to find lost places of freedom and joint mobility that have been lost due to restrictive movement habits after the somatic reeducation process from this work.
