Rolfing® and running are a very useful combination. There are a lot of reasons why you should try Rolfing, if you want to be a better runner. But let´s be realistic, you will not be running the Munich Marathon in a record time only because of having Rolfing® sessions. But – Rolfing® can help you organize your posture and fascial structure. This will help you run smoother, faster and/or longer distances and avoid injuries plus recovering faster! Not bad, I’d say.
The truth is that many runners deal with mild aches or pains on a daily basis: a tight hamstring, joint pain, plantar fasciitis or knee issues, just to name a few. Although these aches and pains aren´t so serious as to require some rest, they are, nevertheless, a nuisance.
If you think about running, it´s clear that your body should have good alignment and posture to avoid overuse injuries. Doing many thousands of steps each week, month and year with a posture that is putting a lot of tension and strain on a special part of the body will invariably result in problems on the long term – a worst case scenario being a stress fracture for example. Another person, a non- sportive individual, with the same postural issues could live with that since he/she is not exposing the body to strenuous activity. But we as runners will have to deal with the consequences sooner or later.
There I said it: I’m an avid runner myself and totally in favor of doing sports! I’m only recommending people who are doing sports (like running) on a regular basis to check their health before exposing the body to this kind of training. (It´s same with medical checkups to avoid heart attacks). As athletes we need to take care of ourselves.
In this article I don’t want to list all the benefits of Rolfing® the way I experienced them and how I help other people experience them in my practice (check my website www.adrian-pisani.com), but I want to focus on specifically what Rolfing® can do for you as a runner. Here we go!
Benefits of Rolfing® for your running skills:
- Freeing the breath: Right after the first session I ask my clients “What do you notice now?” They often report a great improvement in their breathing capacity and that they fell lighter or taller. How is this? The first Rolfing session is about freeing the breathing from restrictions. Your Rolfer™ will work on the breathing musculature (torso, ribcage, etc.) to give you more breathing capacity in all three planes (3-D breathing). After this session my clients report to have a deeper breathing, allowing them to get in more air, especially when doing high intensity training. We often forget that breathing is the most crucial movements/activity we repeat most often every day. (Between 17’000 to 23’000 times a day!) Hence, if your breathing has restrictions, your movements will have restrictions too! Rolfing® can help loosen up those restrictions!
- Running economically – or how to move more efficiently and with less effort. Rolfing® certainly helps you to release fascial tensional patterns throughout you body in a way that increases mobility and makes it easier for you to effortlessly stand up straight. Another important aspect of Rolfing® is movement education. People often relate Rolfing® only to fascia and work on them. And that´s true, but they forget that Rolfing® also helps clients with their movement economy and body awareness. There are some biomechanical aspects we Rolfers take into consideration as we work such as: step length, toe hinge, plantar flexion, angle of lower leg at foot contact, hamstrings flexibility, etc. If we are able to give you more capacity to do these actions and do them consciously and effortlessly, well, then your running and walking will benefit!
- Help in recovery. On one hand, new research has shown that muscle soreness does not come from the muscle tissue alone, but mainly from the fascia, which envelops the muscles. On the other hand, fascia can be an over-achiever, when it comes to help and protect areas that have been injured or are working inappropriately. This results in a build up of too much connective tissue and thereby limits your range of motion. Here Rolfing® can help you loosen the “stuck” fascia plus accelerate the injury recovery by improving movement and circulation around the joints and muscles. Naturally, improved circulation benefits the sore and inflamed tissue or joint. Your body will heal and recover faster and you’ll be on your feet again sooner!
- Prevent injuries: Some of the typical injuries every runner experiences are plantar fasciitis, patellofemoral pain syndrome, sciatic nerve pain, Achilles tendonitis, iliotibial band syndrome, just to name a few. Rolfing® can aid you in the prevention of these and other repetitive stress injuries by giving you an ideal alignment for your body. Unhealthy tensional patterns fall away, and your body moves more naturally with ease and flow. And that’s what we as runners are looking for: to flow in our movement and feel alive, right?!
As a runner and Rolfer I will write an article on specific “runner’s injuries” in the future. But for now, let me summarize what clients of mine, who are runners have reported after receiving the classical 10 series of Rolfing® sessions:
- Easier breathing capacity
- Lower perceived exertion
- Longer steps and strides
- Better time results especially in the days were running was generally more difficult (because of bad weather conditions, fatigue, mood, etc.)
- A more fluid running style
- Higher body awareness
- Release of tension on the Iliotibial band, knee, hamstrings and thighs
- In same instances relief of chronic injuries
For more information on how Rolfing® can help you get out of pain, prevent injuries and optimize your training regimen, feel free to contact me.
Happy running!
Adrian Pisani
Certified Rolfer™
www.adrian-pisani.com