Rolfing® Structural Integration and Chronic Pain

ABSTRACT Delve into the nature of pain through the lens of Certified Advanced Rolfer™ and Rolf Movement® Practitioner Alan Richardson. In this article, Richardson distinguishes between acute pain and chronic pain, and highlights how modern understandings of pain have evolved from a purely biomedical model to a biopsychosocial perspective. The role of Rolfing Structural Integration with clients who are experiencing chronic pain include: validation and safety, pain education, body map refinement, graded exposure, and counterirritation. By leveraging the body’s natural capacity for neuroplastic change, Rolfers and structural integration practitioners can enhance recovery from chronic pain.