Somic therapy/Rolfing therapy

[Smallstepsforward]

Hi there - has anyone tried this for pain relief and found it useful? I’m interested to know as someone suggested it to me the other day. Thanks!

[123mossie]

What are they, never heard of either?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to 123mossie]

Maybe Sonic (not Somic) therapy? For stress.

Rolfing therapy - (quote from internet) - a technique of deep tissue manipulation aimed at the release and realignment of the body, and the reduction of muscular and psychic tension.

[whitefishbay]

No but I would try massage before Rolfing.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to whitefishbay]

Yes, that sounds a bit brutal…especially for PMR!

[Smallstepsforward in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you. I suspected as much. Even massage irritates me. I will stick to breathwork for pain relief which really works for me. Thank you again for your advice.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Smallstepsforward]

Yes I think you’re right, but it’s always worth investigating something new…sure if it’s any good, it would have been mentioned on here over the years.

[Smallstepsforward in reply to DorsetLady]

PMR is such a frustrating condition. A lot of dead ends in my quest to lessen the pain. I’m between rheumatologists at the moment as the last one was pretty long in the tooth. My Gp is referring me to guys and Thomas’s rheumatologist dept in London. Hopefully I’ll get better care there. At the moment, I’m not being managed at all which isn’t great. Your slow taper guidelines are v helpful as is all the advice on this site.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Smallstepsforward]

Just going to throw this in - if your pain is not controlled then maybe you are on too low a dose?What pain in particular- and does it vary depending on your activity or time of day etc…..

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Smallstepsforward]

Have to agree with DL - if you have that much pain, you are almost certainly at the wrong dose or the wrong timing of dose. What pain, where and when?

[Smallstepsforward in reply to PMRpro]

Left hip, shoulder and neck. Sometimes feet. Mainly. I’m seeing the Gp again on Friday to try and sort it out

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Smallstepsforward]

How are your back muscles? PMR is really so often bilateral so I do tend to wonder when a problem is unilateral If I have one-sided problems it is more likely to be the start of the myofascial pain syndrome - if I leave it long enough it becomes bilateral but also tends to move around.

[Smallstepsforward in reply to PMRpro]

They are not so bad today. I had a lot pain there pre diagnosis. It was bilateral. It came back 3 weeks ago but has settled. The other pains - neck, top of shoulders and feet - that re appeared 3 weeks ago haven’t gone yet.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Smallstepsforward]

Sounds like me - a combination of MPS and PMR. Which is very common

[whitefishbay in reply to DorsetLady]

I am up for most things but that sounds hard going.

[Smallstepsforward in reply to whitefishbay]

It does not sound suitable does it. I was interested to see whether anyone else had tried it.

[AyJayBass]

"psychic tension"??? Put's me off immediately!

[Smallstepsforward in reply to AyJayBass]

As it did me!

[gaqke10]

I am a massage therapist and I have known people who have had dramatically good results from Rolfing. It's a very deep work, however, and can cause pain. I wouldn't try it while dealing with PMR. I wonder if your friend recommended it because she was trying to suggest something for your pain, trying to be helpful. It wouldn't be helpful at all for PMR pain, which is an inflammation in the arteries.

By the way, it's somatic therapy, in other words, bodywork.

[Smallstepsforward in reply to gaqke10]

Thanks, you are spot on I think. She was just trying to help but has no idea about PMR and that her suggestions would have resulted in more pain! I am finding breathwork very helpful in terms of pain management. I’ll stick to that!