Running or sprinting puts a significant amount of strain on the body, especially on a runner's muscular and skeletal systems. Good posture and efficient movement patterns are therefore essential for runners.
Athletes can use the bodywork method of Rolfing® Structural Integration to achieve optimal alignment of their bodies and improve their body awareness. Through Rolfing, runners can increase their flexibility, facilitate breathing, and reduce physical strain pain.
Improving Athletic Performance
Rolfing can help runners avoid bad posture and injuries by aligning their bodies ideally. By releasing adhesions and hardening in the connective tissue, flexibility and mobility can be improved, increasing stride length and range of motion.
Special Rolfing techniques can also relax chest muscles and open up the chest to allow for more effective breathing, which is particularly important for runners, as breathing transports oxygen to the muscles.
Understanding Muscle Function During Running
The "Runner" exhibit at the BODY WORLDS Museum in Berlin vividly demonstrates how the human musculature works during running. The muscle in tension shortly after pushing off from the starting block illustrates the complexity of human musculature.
Skeletal muscles that people can move voluntarily overlap in a multi-layered way, determining the outer body contour. Muscles in motion differ from relaxed muscles in their length. The more they tense up, the shorter they become.
This tension is clearly visible in the specimen, as the muscles stand in full force to set the runner in motion. The runner's centrally opened chest allows for a view of the lungs and heart, which are essential organs for athletes - the heart pumps blood through the circulation, and the lungs are responsible for breathing.
Rolfing as Part of Runner's Training Plan
Rolfing® Structural Integration does not work only with the connective tissue, but considers the interplay of all body elements, such as fascia, muscles, bones, and ligaments.
Many runners suffer from pain related to overuse or injury. By releasing tension and blockages in the connective tissue during Rolfing, such pain can be relieved and ideally avoided.
For every professional runner, Rolfing® Structural Integration should, therefore, be an important and regular part of their training plan. Such a plan may include specific exercises to improve strength and endurance, as well as stretching and relaxation exercises to improve overall running performance.
Learn more about Rolfing® Structural Integration.
Visit the BODY WORLDS Museum at Berlin Alexanderplatz.
Did you already know?
The Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® Europe is offering a Meet ROLFING introductory course in Berlin in English from 21 to 22 October 2023, preceded by a joint visit to the BODY WORLDS Museum with a guided tour by the Rolfing instructor on Friday, 20 October 2023.
