As a Certified Rolfer I periodically have clients who do not fit the typical assessment profile, when I say that I mean that it could be difficult to assess certain clients because at first glance some of the clients I am speaking about appear to be functionally asymmetric but at the same time it is difficult to identify the orientation or direction of the pelvic and shoulder girdles. If it were not for the obvious segmental imbalance or their own description of the specific joint pain and unexplainable pain they have in specific quadrants of the body it would be confusing to identify to say the least. For those Rolfers or Structural Integrators who are in the know about functional/dysfunctional asymmetries you know the patterns I am speaking about and the patterns are so elusive that not even the most sophisticated of conventional therapists know how to label them, how to treat them or how to structurally integrate them. The pattern causes the skin and connective tissue or fascia profundus to be extremely non-responsive and rigid to the point that it just simply does not respond to touch and if it does it is only momentary until it resumes its prior state of rigidity. The client will communicate that they are tight or stiff all over and the feeling of needing to be stretched or put in traction is a result of feeling jammed in the shoulder and neck, elbow, wrist, hip, or ankle. This type of pattern is what those in the know will refer to as a dysfunctional asymmetric and in the next few blogs I will speak more about assessment and treatment.
John Barton, Certified Rolfer® and Rolfing® Fort Worth-TX-Dallas-Austin-Arlington-Denton-Texas.
www.certifiedrolfing.com/Rolfing
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