Discovering Rolfing: Two Men, Same Pains, One Therapist

What do two men – thirty years apart in age – have in common? Their pains, their doctor, their therapy.

When entrepreneurs Peter Yu and Ariston Lee sought out massage therapist Melche “Boy” Caudor they came with a pain in the back. And not only the back, they had discomfort in their necks, legs and just about any part of their bodies. They also came to Melche Caudor after going through chiropractors, medical doctors and rehabilitation centers. Somehow, despite the expensive fees with chiropractors and medical doctors, relief was temporary. The pain recurred, requiring more visits only to end up with fleeting relief.

Both men were going through treatment when The Freeman visited them on a Friday afternoon at MC Back to Health Clinic in La Paloma Sabidivision, Labangon. What’s nice about Caudor’s clinic is that the ambience is amiable and patients are treated to light snacks, making them forget they came for the pain.

From Peter Yu’s bubbly talk, it was difficult to tell he was about to be a septuagenarian or that he had pain. His rehabilitation protocol showed that he had tendonitis with radiating pain on his arms and neck. He also had lumbar injuries causing pain to his legs and back. Never believing that prescription drugs would ease pain, Mr. Yu first approached chiropractors in Cebu and Manila. He said there was pain alleviation after treatment, but some other pain turned up.

Similarly, little would one suspect 32-year-old businessman Ariston Lee to be scoliotic. He plays basketball, is into hiking and is of tall build. But x-rays have shown that his shoulders and spine are misaligned. When he first approached Caudor, he did not tell him about his scoliotic condition. Caudor told him instead. Mr. Lee’s scoliosis is a spine misalignment on the right, he has pain on his neck, is prone to stiff neck, and has nerve stagnation and tendonitis.

He said that while he had been to chiropractors, there was little alleviation with the tightness on his neck and complained that his chest would move up when he raises his head. What brought him to Caudor was his tireless search for the elixir of healing.

Both men say that Caudor’s massage therapy has taken over where other alternative medicine modalities and conventional medicine failed. Tendonitis, which is common to both men, is an inflammation or irritation of a tendon owing to chronic strain, overuse or misuse. Pain worsens during and after activity occurring mostly on the thumb, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, heel and wrist. It can also occur anywhere where there is a tendon.

Frictioning and Rolfing.

Because the human body has innate recuperative capabilities, not all pain can be attacked with attack. Caudor gets to the pain with soft approaches. In explaining his therapy, Caudor applies frictioning, a technique he describes as a procedure of loosening the muscles and melting scar tissues. The other technique is rolfing or body and tissue manipulation. While chiropractors adjust bones, rolfing involves aligning and balancing the body by lengthening and repositioning the fascia. For Mr. Yu and Mr. Lee, mild, direct pressure was applied on affected areas to melt or release fascial holdings and allow the body to reestablish alignment.

Get the picture? Muscles are contracting tissues that give the body and organs physical movement. The fascia surrounds the muscles, bones and organs to give it shape. Rolfing is a type of body therapy that systematically unwinds chronic strain so that the patient is brought to natural ways of being, standing or moving. Much like aligning the bones in chiropractice, rolfing aligns the body and fascia allowing these to move with greater ease.

Studies explain that rolfing is not to be confused with deep tissue massage. What distinguishes rolfing from other touch modalities is that rolfing involves palpation, discrimination and integration. Rolfers touch or palpate the tissues to determine imbalances. Once determined, these are discriminated or separated from the fascial layers that adhere to muscles pulled out of position by strain or injury. Then the separated layers are integrated to the body relating its segments to restore physical balance. If it sounds complicated, that’s because it requires special training to do it. Caudor is perhaps one of the rare, one-of-a-kind rolfing practitioner in Cebu.

For Mr. Yu and Mr. Lee, the complication does not mean much. They came with simplicity of heart – to get healed. Being businessmen, they also appreciate how Caudor’s consultation charges are half those of chiropractors and medical doctors.

For those who want freedom from pain without pain in the pocket, Caudor’s rolfing could be the painless option. (MC Back to Health Clinic can be reached at 261 9166.)