Where Does Your Back Go When It Goes Out? Ask An Expert : Jeffrey Maitland, Ph.D, Certified Advanced Rolfer, Author Of Spacious Body (North Atlantic)
Boulder, CO ... How many times have you heard this surprised comment from a friend? You know, I was just bending over to pick up something, when all of a sudden I felt something slip in my lower back and the next thing I know I am on my knees in terrible pain! "There are many explanations for how the spine gets in trouble, but one of the more common causes of back pain is a joint restriction", says Jeffrey Maitland, a board-certified diplomate at the Academy of Pain Management. "When this occurs you will often hear people say, 'my back went out'. What happens when your back goes out[base '] is not that it goes anywhere but that joints (facets) in the spine get restricted or fixed." "JOSPT (the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy)1, recently cited that patients with chronic low back pain may respond better and sustain longer improvements when treated with alternative treatment protocols like Rolfing®," says John Cottingham, Certified Advanced Rolfer, an expert in the Rolfing approach to low back pain and co-author of the JOSPT study. "Rolfing structural integration, an original and scientifically validated system of bodywork, combines hands-on manipulation with movement education." Rolfing bodywork can speed up injury recovery by:
reducing pain, stiffness and muscle tension
improving movement and circulation around the joint
attending to both the injury and any secondary (ie., hip or neck) pain that may develop from favoring the injury
Rolfing Movement Education can help you:
identify bad habits that create tense lower backs, hunched shoulders, or turned in ankles
learn correct posture and movements to replace old habits
learn from the knowledge of what your own body does, instead of guessing what's healthy for your back
Dr. Maitland, one of the worlds' four advanced Rolfing instructors, and is the Director of Academic Affairs and Faculty Chairman at the Rolf Institute. He is available for interviews. 1 J. Cottingham and J. Maitland, "A Three-Paradigm Treatment Model Using Soft Tissue Mobilization And Guided Movement-Awareness Techniques For A Patient With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Case Study" the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, (JOSPT) 1997;26(3):155-167.
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