Every once in a while something comes along that changes the parameters of what we imagine to be possible. Rolfing® Structural Integration did that; it forever changed the prevailing notion that bodies follow an uninterrupted spiral towards decrepitude. It introduced the concept of connective tissue as a mutable, plastic medium, and we, as Rolfers, have enjoyed sixty years of exploring the possibilities of plasticity.

But then there is that point, that hard edge one runs into where the question arises: what to do when plasticity has fled the scene, when in spite of your best efforts the connective tissue is unyielding and intractable? We all push that edge in different ways. Our research group experimented with pushing it by directly altering the biochemistry of connective tissue. (Purists avert your eyes.) We used an infusion of glutathione delivered via I.V. push syringe during the connectivetissue manipulations. We presented our findings at the Third International Fascia Research Congress in March 2012 in Vancouver, Canada.

Glutathione is a substance that can be found in every cell of the body but is manufactured primarily by the liver. It is found in great abundance in healthy bodies, and in diminished amounts in challenged organisms. It is a powerful antioxidant composed of three amino acids: cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid. In spite of the fact that people have been studying glutathione since 1921, no one knows precisely how it works – which made this project all the more compelling and challenging. But, unquestionably, it does work. We were able to produce results in seemingly intractable situations; most notably we found that we could thaw frozen shoulder and produce significant changes in post-surgical scar tissue. The effects were sometimes jaw-dropping.

We presented at the conference, not because we had compiled such convincing statistical data – we hadn’t; we were there because we had happened on to something that was too good to keep under wraps. We presented initial findings laid it out quite simply: what we did, how we did it, who it worked for, and how to duplicate the results. We went to the conference with the clear intention of connecting with other people who were using glutathione for similar purposes, to connect with people who knew how to gather data and assess findings. We hoped to find someone who had a lab and lots of mice and testing equipment, to find someone who knew how glutathione actually works. That didn’t exactly happen, but we did make valuable contacts.

The conference provides a crucible, a place to collide with people on similar or opposing trajectories. One fellow walked into our booth and said, “I do this same thing in my clinic in Scotland” and then he told us about a myometer called a MyotonPro for capturing precise connective-tissue measurements. He is part of the same research group as Robert Schleip and was at the conference to promote this new device. Another exciting connection was a conversation with a molecular pharmacologist. I inquired about the possibility of a transdermal form of glutathione (using an I.V. is very effective but inconvenient and expensive), and he thought he might have a base stable enough to suspend the fragile glutathione molecule.

I estimate that 400-500 people saw our presentation, and while we didn’t get the response we imagined, we did pique quite a bit of interest. We lost count of how many people walked up and asked, “Can I come to Santa Cruz to try this – I’ve got this shoulder problem . . . .”

This project was started in 2010 by a Feldenkrais Method® practitioner, Nancy MacAllister, and a naturopathic doctor, Tonya Fleck-D’Andrea, as a cooperative approach to frozen shoulder. Early on the project hit a snag, and I was called in to assist with the tissue mobilization. Left to my own devices I suspect I would have never found my way into a research project, but things take a course and suddenly I was deeply captured. A year later I was writing an abstract and designing a poster presentation. This project is an ongoing inquiry. Currently there are three naturopathic doctors, two Rolfers, and one Feldenkrais practitioner in the research group. We welcome comments, clues, connections; anything to speed the glacial pace of research.

In Memoriam

Structural Integration: The Journal of the Rolf Institute® notes the passing of the following members of our community (in alphabetical order):

Jim Fiorino, Certified Advanced Rolfer™

Ed Jeheber, former Rolfer

Steve Moore, Certified Rolfer