Here's a nice Rolfing® article that discusses the use of Rolfing for pain relief after an auto accident. The article features my colleague Emily Gordon in Maryland, and talks about how three sessions of Rolfing are giving one of her clients relief from the constant pain he has been in since an auto accident some six years ago. I have also found this to be true with the many clients coming in to see me for Rolfing on auto and workers' compensation claims in the dozen-plus years I've been in practice (first in Hawaii, now in Seattle). In most of the cases I've worked with, clients find that Rolfing® is what really gets them out of the woods, bringing relief that was not found through just chiropractic care, physical therapy, or massage – although these can be valuable components of a full treatment plan, as well as acupuncture.
When a client comes to my Rolfing practice after an auto accident, there are several things to consider. If the accident was recent, and the person is in significant pain, we have to see whether he responds best to direct Rolfing, or to indirect techniques that are very gentle. If the accident was particularly traumatic or shocking, or if the neck is highly guarded because of a whiplash, we may start with craniosacral work to drain some of the shock from the system.
I also want to know how the person was hit, and how he was positioned at the time, as that - plus a visual analysis - tells me how the force vectors that entered the body may have impacted the myofascial, cranial, and organ systems. For example, if you were rear-ended while you were the driver, stopped at a traffic signal, with your seatbelt on and your right foot jammed on the brake, and your head turned to the right to say something to the person in the passenger seat, I know immediately that there may be a chain of compression up the right leg affecting the foot/ankle/knee/hip, and a whiplash effect with a right rotation in the musculature of the neck and torso as your body was propelled forward into and around the seatbelt.
If a client has had many sessions of other treatment, including myofascial massage, it may be an indication that the cranial or visceral (organ) component of the accident was not addressed and will be the missing link. For example, whiplash can put strain around the suspensory ligaments of the pleura; in this case, even great myofascial work to the neck muscles will not bring a permanent fix until those ligaments are under less strain.
I'm passionate about helping people get out of suffering and back to their normal lives after auto and work accidents, and think that Rolfing® – combined with craniosacral and visceral work as needed – is the best form of manual therapy to deal with this intricate problem-solving. The silver lining to an auto accident is that insurance will usually fully cover the treatments if prescribed by a medical doctor or chiropractor. While some Rolfers™ will not bill your auto insurer or workers' compensation program directly, I have found that these agencies are usually easy to work with, and I am happy to do that so my clients have one less burden to deal with while they are recovering.
