In Home Massage Therapy: 7 Good Reasons that will Make you Try it!
Sciatica is a painful and debilitating condition that can affect anyone. It has no single cause and sufferers often say they simply woke up with it. The condition causes pain in the lower back, hips, and legs, usually on just one side of the body. Sufferers also often find that they experience changes in sensation on the affected side, including numbness and tingling. While pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication can relieve symptoms temporarily, they do not deal with the underlying problem.
Why sciatica is such a pain
The sciatic nerve is one of the largest nerves in the human body. It relays messages from the brain to the lower half of the body and returns messages from there to the brain. The nerve passes through the spinal column and is protected by it. However, any movement or problem in the column or the surrounding connective tissue can cause disruption in the signals that are sent and received. It is this disruption that results in pain, differing sensations, and difficulties with movement.
Traditional treatments concentrate on relieving pain through medication and, in severe cases where movement in the fluid discs of the spinal column is at fault, steroidal injections and surgery. However, even these have limited benefits for the sufferer and surgery can add further complications.
Rolfing to treat sciatica symptoms
Rolfing stretches and re-aligns fascia
As with many issues and conditions that involve the spinal column, the key to successful treatment of sciatica is to rethink the way the spine is understood. Emphasis has traditionally been on the bones and discs of the spine, with little attention paid to the elements that keep it in place and keep it all together. If the soft tissues that hold everything together are given priority, then effective treatment for sciatica is possible. This is exactly what the technique known as Rolfing seeks to achieve.
Rolfing to treat sciatica concentrates on reprogramming the fascia, quite literally the stuff that holds the human body together. Fascia is the connective tissue that covers and binds together the muscles and organs of the body. Rolfing techniques allows the fascia to return to its normal and healthy state which allows the position of the bone and muscle to also return to its desired position. Change is applied through manual manipulation of the body and the connective tissue throughout, bringing each segment of the body into proper alignment.
Rolfing to treat sciatica does not work overnight, and shouldn’t be thought of as a wonder cure. Reprogramming anything, including parts of the body, takes time. The process uses gravity and the idea that gravity should be thought of as a friend rather than as an enemy in supporting the body in its correct posture.
Rolfing takes place over a series of ten sessions. Each session concentrates on a different section of the body, with goals for each session set during the first treatment. Postural analysis can determine how far out of normal alignment the spine has become. In addition to the analysis,
Rolfing also concentrates on opening up the lungs and retraining the tissues that affect breathing. Better breathing improves blood flow and has an effect on the whole person, body, and mind. Each following session aims to build upon the work of previous treatments.
If you’d like to find massage therapists who are professionally trained Rolfers near you, you can use the MassageBook massage therapist directory. Read massage therapist reviews and learn more about professional massage therapist’s education and background before booking your first Rolfing session.
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