Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group I'm faced with a dilemma & need your thoughts

Hey- I would imagine that in a flare, when your muscles can tighten and spasm, that rolfing would be very painful...massage maybe better? I have been told that chiro would be wrong for AS...cracking backs and necks that are fusing would be bad...

If he is gentle, perhaps, but anything involving your neck, really, really check out before going...get many opinions...

Peace, hope it helps
Linc

Hi Janet, he sounds like a decent guy. I didn't realize you already tried this therapy, and hope you didn't feel I was suggesting he may be a Scheister in that respect. My thought was that if he really believed he had something to offer that could really benefit you, that he be willing to give you a sample of his skills before you made a commitment to treatment. I suppose your best bet is to truly evaluate the treatment you received and determine whether the results from that are worth continuing this therapy. I know massage has always been a big help to me, and the deeper it went, the more I liked the end result, just wish I could afford it.

BTW, a 45 minute massage with my RMT costs $55.00 CDN. Rolfing sounds very expensive in comparison. Are there machines or devices used in the process, or is it all by hand/touch? Anything but hands on my neck would be worrisome to me.

All the best in your journey...

No, I wasn't offended at all by your comments. I asked for peoples opinions, and that's what I wanted.

Massages in my area are around $65.00 for an hour, some a little less, some a little more.

He doesn't use anything but his hands for the rolfing. No machines or gadgets of any kind.

I'm not going to jump into this. I've given it a lot of thought, and talked to quite a few people about it, doctors and lay people. I do think though that I'll wait a bit and see what happens with my neck. It's feeling some better with the NASID and muscle relaxer combined. I'll see what happens when I cut out the muscle relaxer.

Anyway, thanks for your comments.

Janet, since you've tried his technique before and found it somewhat beneficial, and, I assume, not damaging since you're thinking about going again, I would trust your own experience in this. Like many here, I have tried many different techniques and alternative treatments, putting out thousands of dollars I couldn't afford to. Some worked beautifully, some didn't. It's all about trial and error.

For people who don't know what rolfing is, here's the website:

Rolf Institute

Go with your gut on this one. Rolfing isn't much more invasive than a deep tissue massage and since he was sensitive to your particular case, I have a feeling that he will base his course of treatment on you, instead of on 'what works for everyone'. It's up to you and I know you will make the decision that is right for you.

Hugs,

A lot of the pain that I have had over the years was a by-product of the surgery I have had but before all the surgery to straighten me up, most of the pain was because of the back and neck muscles being under tension, 24 hours a day.

I started having deep massage sessions twice a week and while it helped, the effects were very short lasting. I wouldn't take any muscle relaxents as it would be too dangerous at work.

One of my Doctors recommended that I see a back specialist who used his own technique in applying needles for removing the stress caused by very tight muscles. The results were fantastic. After the first visit, the pain went away and my muscles felt relaxed. One half hour visit every week and I was pain free from my waist and up. This was not like what traditional accupuncture is like where the practicioner is concerned about adjusting the flow of chi.

The deep needle treatment was totally based on the fact that when you put a needle into a tight muscle, it relaxes. After a few weeks, my treatments went down to once every month.

Acupuncture needles cause very little pain when entering the flesh but you will feel a little bit more pain when the needle enters a tight muscle. If you want to read about it, take a look at the website istop.org

I hope that whatever you do will give you some relief.

George

Thanks for your comments, Kat. I appreciate what you have to say. Your comments are always well thought out and reasonable.

The NASID is working fairly well for me right now, so I think I'll wait a bit and see what happens. I don't like the idea of being on it for a long period of time, but it's only been about two weeks so far. I go back to the Rehumy at the end of this month, and I'll see what she says then. If the pain becomes worse again when I go off of the NASID, then I think I'll give the Rolfing a try.

George,
Your deep muscle needling sound intriguing, but to the best of my knowledge it's not done up here. I'd probably have to go to Seattle or Vancouver and that's just not practical for me.

When I take muscle relaxers, I only take them at night, so they don't bother me at work.

Thanks for your input on this, I really appreciate all of your comments.

Can't comment on the rolfing since the condition of your neck is only known to you, your doc, and your Maker. But, I sure can comment on $150.00 per session. Seems like a lot of coin to me! Maybe massage therapists in Alaska are scarce, but in Arizona they get about 60 bucks an hour.

Good luck, and God Bless.
Andy

Actually, we have quite a few massage therapists, and they also charge around $60 per hr. However a rolfing is different from massage, and he has much more training. I'm not sure how many years of training, but certainly many more than for massage therapy.

I do get massages about every other week. They don't help a whole lot, but do help some.

I was feeling better with the NSAID until it started hurting my stomach, so I stopped taking that, and now the pain is worse again.

I would really like to try to treat the condition, not just the symptoms, if you know what I mean. I think the NSAID is just treating the symptom, not really addressing the cause.

Merry Christmas!

I do have some experience with Rolfing. Family members and friends have used one nearby. He charges $100.00 a session and unlike a chiropractor, one visit is usually sufficient. I watched two different people being worked on, one a 70year old figure skating coach and the other my 16year old nephew. The coach had tripped in a construction area and was unsuccessful with chiropractic after months of treatment. Her bruises had healed but, she was still limping and in quite a bit of pain. The rolfing was facinating. At times it was painful but, as he worked he would talk to her about what he was doing and what he wanted her to do. When she was able to "feel and respond" as he asked,her pain would go away. She was thrilled with the results. Another friend's husband had a terrible car accident. Physical therapy, chiropractic, and a law suit settlement all came and went. He bought a cute little sportscar with his money. Still in pain he tried rolfing and after two or three sessions he had to sell his car as he was too tall to drive it!

Needless to say I haven't tried it as I'm so fused and stiff. The thought of anything other than gentle massage makes me cringe. If I'd been able to use it early on in order to remain upright I'd have done it in a heartbeat.

Caution is always warranted when it comes to AS.

God bless you and yours,

Kirst