Structural integration:

Also known as Rolfing, this ten session technique of very deep tissue massage was developed by Ida Rolf (1896-1979), a biochemist with no training in physical therapy, kinesiology, chiropractic, massage, or medicine.  She developed her technique based on yoga exercises and gained her understanding of the body from her yoga instruction (from her obituary in the NY Times) in addition to studying homeopathy.  Structural integration was her term to describe a systematic approach to relieving patterns of stress and impaired functioning, structural integration seeks to correct misalignments in the body created by gravity and physical and psychological trauma. As in Rolting, in ten sessions the practitioner uses hands, arms, and elbows to apply pressure to the fascia, or connective tissue, while the client participates through directed breathing.  “Rolfers make a life study of relating bodies and their fields to the earth and its gravity field, and we so organize the body that the gravity field can reinforce the body’s energy field.”  Rolfing assumes dysfunction of the body is due to the body’s lack of harmony of its energy with gravity, and results in thickened and scarred fascia (the tough layer around muscles) although it has never been scientifically demonstrated this actually occurs. “It's a theory that is largely taken on faith, many researchers say. Wolf Mehling is a manual medicine physician at the University of California, San Francisco who treats patients with Rolfing as well as other kinds of massage. Still, he says, it's hard to say if Rolfing can lead to long-term structural changes in the body. "To my knowledge, there has been no randomized, controlled trials comparing Rolfing with other types of massage or bodywork," he says.

According to Mehling and other researchers, the few studies that have been done are too limited or flawed to draw any conclusions about Rolfing's effectiveness.  (NPR Morning Edition Dec 6, 2010)  After the death of Ida Rolf, there was a war between those who had trained with her over what was “certified” Rolfing, that devolved into a trademark enforcement action.  Some splinter-groups that broke away from Rolfing in part due to these spats are Hellerworks, SOMA, KMI, Aston Patterning, and others.

Rolfing has been described by the New York Times (Oct 7, 2010) as “ It’s painful, very painful, emotionally and physically”

Rolfing basic certification requires 22 weeks of study at Boulder, Colorado at a cost of approximately $28,000 for tuition, fees, and housing, and the credits for study are not transferrable to colleges or universities, since it is not a school accredited by university or college accrediting organizations.

Despite 70 years of Rolfing practice, there are almost no randomized controlled trials or comparative trials- a testament to the salesmanship of Rolfers rather than being a scientifically or medically validated procedure.