February 2007 Integrative Medicine Interest Group Vol. II, Issue 6 LSUHSC School of Medicine—New Orleans Wellness Newsletter Inside This Issue: February theme: Body Massage and Manipulation Rolfing: Focus on the 1 Fascia Rolfing: Focus on the Fascia Osteopathic Manipu- 2 Jeff Marino, L2 lative Medicine Most medical students have a The Benefits of SEX 3 limited relationship with fascia: it’s the stuff you dig through in anatomy lab in order to locate IMIG International 3 some nerve or artery that was Health and Cultural more important. Sometimes Awareness Week the fascia has fancy names: Camper’s, Colles, Scarpas. It Ask Dr. Roca—What is 4 can even determine the extent Fascia? of a nasty staph infection. Nevertheless, fascia often goes Well Tips of the Month 5 unnoticed in a medical stu- dent’s studies. Contributors 5 As much as fascia may be ig- nored in medical school, there freely. Additionally, Rolfing are some practices that actually contraction and relaxation and strives to integrate all regions focus on it. Rolfing is a holis- restricts the body’s easy move- of the body to maximize the tic system of body manipula- ment. The goal of rolfing is to efficiency of the body’s move- tion and movement education realign and balance one’s body ment within the earth’s gravita- that targets fascia—especially by helping it “unlearn” bad Upcoming meetings tional field. the deep, investing fascia patterns of muscle strain and misuse. and events: around muscles. One of the Rolfing can be used on just technique’s key principles is Through a specific sequence of about anyone—people with SPRING 07 meetings that injuries, poor movement deep tissue massage techniques injuries from auto accidents, (12 pm) patterns, or chronic muscle developed more than fifty neck or back pain, arthritis, or sports injuries, to name a few. • Thursday, March 1st tension from stress cause the years ago by its founder and fascia to tighten. Over time, namesake Ida Rolf, Rolfing Some people undergo a Rolf- • Thursday, March 15th this tightened fascia prevents seeks to loosen fascia and al- ing regimen simply to learn to • Thursday, March 29th the natural patterns of muscle low muscles to move more move better or to improve • Thursday, April 12th breathing, flexibility, or pos- ture. The only people for th • Thursday, April 26 whom Rolfing is not recom- mended are those who have International Health and active cancer, broken bones, or Culture Week! a recent history of major sur- Feb. 28th —International Health gery. and Culture Fair March 1st —Diversity Panel: Cul- tural Competency in Health- Rolfers (as the practitioners are care called) evaluate a body’s sym- metry both at rest and in mo- Energy Medicine Workshop: tion to identify restricted movement or imbalance. March 4th Then, through a ten-session Egg Hunt for Health : First week of April IMIG Wellness Newsletter Vol. II, Issue 6 P A GE 2 Rolfing: Focus on the Fascia (cont’d) protocol, the Rolfer systematically treats the to moderate cerebral palsy patient, focusing on a different anatomic region The degree of success of a Rolfing sequence is in each session—beginning at the feet and working large part determined by the patient, who gradually upward. Each session builds upon the last until learns about posture, alignment, and body position- the body is totally aligned; this is effectively ing so that he or she can achieve more efficient, demonstrated in the “before and after” photos more functional, and more balanced everyday move- of patients who have been “Rolfed.” ments. Additionally, Rolfing may offer other health Rolfing encourages the health care provider to rec- benefits. Although the amount of research spe- ognize fascia as a possible positive influence on the cifically devoted to Rolfing is limited, some stud- patient’s well-being, rather than an arbitrary sheath ies suggest that Rolfing increases the body’s surrounding tissues; by doing so, providers will have overall parasympathetic tone; others research the opportunity to offer their patients a course of has found that the myofascial changes it therapy that may have lasting beneficial effects. achieves are advantageous in patients with mild References: Jones, TA. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2004 Nov;15(4):799-809, vi. | The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration www.rolf.org | Rolf you pain away http://www.webmd.com/content/article/53/50479.htm | Photos: Boston Rolfer www.bostonrolfer.org Osteopathic Manipulation Justin Meunier, L2 Osteopathic Medicine was meostasis, and emphasizing an founded in 1847 by Dr. An- increased awareness of physical drew Taylor Still, M.D. (1828 - imbalances within the muscu- 1917) as a reformation of what loskeletal system and tech- he perceived as the inadequate niques with which to treat medical treatments of his day. them. The principles upon which The practice of Osteopathic Osteopathic Medicine was Manipulative Medicine (OMM) founded brought into perspec- was derived to address these tive the importance of treating musculoskeletal imbalances, the whole patient--mind body which Dr. Still believed con- and spirit--taking advantage of tributed to the decline of the body’s natural tendency to health and the establishment of move toward health and ho- disease within the human body. Med student participants in the 2006 AMSA CAM Leadership Training Program Possible beneficial applications of in Rhinebeck, NY get a chance to practice OMM techniques on each other. OMM include: OMM is a manual modality of pain relief experienced by re- treatment used to improve the • Maintenance of General Health cipients of OMM could be impaired or altered function of partially mediated by the induc- the musculoskeletal system. • Back and Neck Pain tion of the patient’s endoge- The act of manual manipula- nous opioid systems through • Arthritis tion, with roots in the ancient the patient’s belief or expecta- Greek "frictions," has long tion that the OMM would help • Chronic Pain Conditions been a part of health care, but alleviate his/her pain. modern OMM includes many • Enhancing recovery from surgery and/or refined techniques that can be OMM techniques can be ap- serious illness applied, such as myofascial re- plied to the joints, soft tissues, lease, cranial osteopathy, lymphatic muscles and fasciae to help • Fibromyalgia pump, high velocity low amplitude facilitate the body’s natural tendency towards health. • Musculoskeletal Pain thrust, muscle-energy technique, and counterstrain. It is also impor- • And others…. tant to note that some of the References: Brigham and Women’s Healthcare: Alternative Therapies – Osteopathic Medicine http://www.faulknerhospital.org/ | American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine www.aacom.org IMIG Wellness Newsletter Vol. II, Issue 6 P A GE 3 The Benefits of SEX Virginia Simon, L2 What holiday could be better than a holiday • Exercise. Intercourse burns about 200 calories on average, that promotes love? One that promotes men- which is about the equivalent of running on a treadmill for 15 tal, physical, and emotional health, of course! minutes. The heart rate rises from 70 to 150 bpm, and depending Valentine’s Day provides the opportunity to on your workout preferences you can workout a whole assort- incorporate all of these benefits. One could ment of different muscle groups. even say that Valentine’s Day is a public health • Reduced Depression initiative. On this one special day, scores of • Less frequent colds and flu. A study at Wilkes University in couples rush home from work to meet their Pennsylvania shows that people who have sex a few times a mates, indulge in a nice romantic dinner, maybe week have higher levels of IgA antibody. a movie, then head back home to celebrate • Reduced risk of heart disease. A 2001 Queens University both love and health by indulging in something study showed that men reduced their risk of stroke or heart at- even more pleasurable—sex. This single word tack by 50 percent by having sex three or more times a week. probably elicits different emotions in everyone, • Pain relief. Immediately before orgasm, levels of the hormone but for now, let go of those and consider the oxytocin rise to five times the normal level; this releases endor- health benefits. For instance, sex is a form of phins, which can alleviate pains like headache and arthritis. In exercise, stress relief, and pain relief—and it women, sex also releases estrogen, which relieves pain associ- doesn’t need to be saved for Valentine’s Day! ated with PMS. So, make some time for you and your special • Better sense of smell. Sex makes levels of prolactin surge caus- someone: close your laptop, pause the iPod, ing stem cells in the brain to develop new neurons in the olfac- turn off the television, light an aromatherapy tory bulbs. candle and engage in the one pastime that con- • Better bladder control. Sex strengthens the same muscles that tinues to stand the test of time. kegel exercises strengthen--the pubococcygeus muscles. IMIG Wellness Newsletter Vol. II, Issue 6 P a ge 4 Question of the Month to Dr. Roca—What is Fascia ? What is fascia? cle and can therefore directly Surgical repairs depend upon influence myofascial tone and fascial strength and healing. Fascia is a specialized dense pain. This ability to contract Infections track along fascial connective tissue layer which appears to be due to the pres- planes. surrounds muscles, bones, and ence of an integrated matrix of joints, providing support, pro- contiguous fibroblasts within How is fascia tection and giving structure to the fascial extracellular matrix. manipulated? the body. Fascia is a mechani- cally continuous extracellular Myofascial release can be either matrix throughout the body Tensegrity is a field of study direct or indirect. Direct re- and is the only tissue when originating in architecture that lease is the process of using present by itself that reflects describes how a system con- slow focused pressure to en- the individuality of a person’s structed with elements in a courage adhered areas of fascia internal and external appear- tensional matrix retains its to release.