Rolfing and Deep Tissue Massage, What’s the Diff?

See that before/after photo to the left? Based on my experience, that’s not an exaggeration! Rolfing was designed to improve structural alignment. I was Rolfed several years ago and saw first hand the changes in my body. The cool thing about my experience was that my therapist had (and continues to have) a bit of the performer in her. What Althea Orr did was to Rolf one side of my body, say, the right, and then got me up and in front of a mirror to show me her handy work.

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at: My right side was inches taller, the arm was longer, my shoulder was no longer creeping up to my ear but was down and unhunched. The most amazing part was my torso. The right-side ribs were equally spread and separated as opposed to the left’s, which were compressed and pinched. It was the closest I’d ever come to looking half human, half ape. When she completed the other side, I was once again symmetrical.

At the time I had the treatment, those practitioners who were not specifically trained by Dr. Ida Rolf—the founder of the technique in the mid 20th century—or her acolytes, were not supposed to use the term Rolfing. And since Rolf remains controversial, not least because her treatments were known to be particularly painful—or at most because of claims that energy healing is at work— therapists who believed in the core principles but not necessarily how or the extend to which they were implemented, began to call the treatment deep-tissue massage. Over the ensuing years, there continues to be a growing misconception that Rolfing is nothing more than a very deep-tissue massage.

Both soft-tissue manipulations have in common effects such as loosening tissue, stress relief and detoxification. Rolfing is said to go a step further and actually reshapes, or structurally reintegrates, the effects of gravity on the body. Hence the postural improvements. Rolfing’s theory is rooted in separating the fascia, or connective tissue, manually so as to restore and loosen movement patterns.

If you’re thinking about being Rolfed (it usually comes as a 10-pack of treatments, it would behoove you to ask some questions and do a little homework to see exactly what you’ll be getting. I think there are lots of good practitioners, but some that call their treatment Rolfing when it’s really not, and others who are Rolfing fanatics.