Momentum Rolfing

One of the objectives of Rolfing®Structural Integration is to free the breath. Complete and deep inhalation should be as effortless as possible, exhalation should be relaxed and allow a person to let go. In order to breath freely, the Rolfing® Ten Series focuses on enhancing thoracic mobility and allowing each breath to spread throughout the entire body. Myofascial tissues on the front of the rib cage and shoulder girdle are often short.

As a result, the ribs cannot move freely with each inhalation – something that occurs 15,000 to 20,000 times every day. Over time, the shortness in these frontal structures often increases not only limiting breathing but creating restrictions in organ mobility as well. In many cases, even a single Rolfing session can often bring considerable relief.

To find out more about Rolfing® SI, visit: www.rolf.org
SOURCE: ERA Website www.rolfing.org

Another secret of fibromyalgia discovered in microbiome Affecting up to four percent of the population and mostly women, fibromyalgia is a syndrome that causes pain, fatigue and cognitive issues. Poorly understood, the condition has no cure and is difficult to diagnose. Now, thanks to the work of a team of scientists from the Research Institute of the Mc...

🔈 HEADACHES AND MYODURAL BRIDGES

• Recent anatomical studies have found that the deep suboccipital (top of the neck) muscles are connected to the dura matter (the covering of the spinal cord) by ligaments.
• Pulling on a suboccipital muscle moves the dura matter, in cadavers.
• The suboccipital muscles often atrophy (waste away) in headache sufferers.

Can headaches be affected by using Active Release Techniques (ART) on the the suboccipital muscles: superior oblique, inferior oblique, re**us capitis posterior major and minor? The suboccipital muscles are important little muscles which control fine neuromuscular control of the head.

Recent studies have added to our knowledge of the possible connections between headaches and the myodural bridges:

Enix et al did microscopic evaluations to confirm that ligaments called the myodural bridges emanate from the suboccipital muscle bellies, and attach to the dura mater in 75% of specimens. These myodural bridges have a hypothetical role in human homeostasis, and they may contribute to certain neuropathological conditions as well. The presence of a neural component within the myodural bridges suggests that they may serve another function aside from simply anchoring the muscles to the dura mater. Such a connection may be involved in monitoring dural tension and may also play a role in certain cervicogenic pathologies (neck pain and headaches).

They noted that manual traction of the re**us major in cadavers resulted in gross dural movement from the spinal root level of the axis (C2) to the spinal root level of the first thoracic vertebra.
Fernández-de-Las-Peñas found that the greater the headache intensity, duration or frequency, the smaller the cross sectional area of the re**us minor and re**us major muscles. He also foundthat there was a correlation between hyper-tenderness and atrophy of the re**us minor. In these cases pressing on the re**us minor reproduced the patient’s headaches.

The re**us minor was also found to have atrophied by Hallgren, in chronic head pain sufferers. He proposed a theory that whiplash could lead to nerve damage which causes the re**us minor to atrophy. His photo in the picture shows the myodural bridge.

ART is a hands-on soft tissue treatment of ligaments, muscles, tendons, and nerves. It provides a quick way to make a tight muscle loose, as well as treating conditions such as: tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, shoulder tendinitis, and plantar fasciitis. The technique involves the therapist putting pressure on a tissue, while the patient stretches to move the tissue slowly out from under the contact. The treatment hurts a bit, but only in a way that makes the patient know it is working. The technique works by increasing the nervous system’s tolerance to stretch.