A New Therapy to Look at the Body-Integrating the Structure of the Horse.
/A New Therapy to Look at the Body-Integrating the Structure of the Horse. (Continued from: Equine Athletic Performance and Myofascial Structural Integration Therapy)
April E. Johnston, MSc.
Advanced Equine Structural Integration Practitioner and Instructor
Structural Integration Therapy was founded by Dr. Ida Rolf, who in the first half of the 20th century studied the physiological development of the human body. Dr. Rolf sought to understand how the laws of physics and natural forces such as gravity influenced development, and how the body responded. With this information, she began to reveal compensatory movement patterns in humans, and to understand the role of connective tissue is both supporting and restricting balance. She developed a specific physical therapy to address the connective tissue system, with the goal of restoring equilibrium and ending pain caused by imbalances. She founded the Rolf Institute in Boulder, CO was founded to continue these studies, where she continued to lead this work until her death in the 1970's. Today the Rolf Institute and The Guild for Structural Integration remain the two primary accredited institutions that certify practitioners in the Rolf Method for human structural integration therapy, although there are several other bodywork schools using her work as the foundation. In the 1980's and 1990's, structural integration therapists began to apply this body of work to the equine world. There are two schools, while not affiliated with the Rolf Institute or Guild currently training equine and canine practitioners, that apply Ida Rolf's underlying philosophies and techniques to animal physical therapy.
Structural Integration Therapy helps the connective tissue release and reorganize, returning your horse’s body to its natural equilibrium. The therapy seeks to restore balance to the connective tissue of the body by working systematically over 5-6 initial sessions, to release compensation patterns and create more “openness” in the body. This allows the greatest force on all bodies- gravity-help reorganize the structure back into a state of equilibrium. This usually results in a tremendous reduction in pain as the body can move in straightness and balance.
All terrestrial life forms are organized in relation to the earth's gravity. When a body goes out of equilibrium due to traumas, the compensation pattern that results is based on how the body seeks to re-establish equilibrium in relation to gravity in a twisted or off-kilter body position. Look at all high-performance athletes- equine, human, canine. They are stacked relatively straight over their vertical lines, and if in a bird's eye view, would likely be close to bearing their weight 50/50 side to side. In other words, one of the reasons they can perform at high levels is they are not moving in a twisted/torqued fight with gravity every step of the way. Because they are aligned, they are more efficient, fluid, powerful, and coordinated.
The ultimate goal is to integrate the movement of all the structures of a horse so that there is appropriate distribution of weight front to back, and side to side, when the body is both at rest and motion. This is done in two phases- the actual sessions performed by the therapist, and the time between sessions where the openness (re-established by the practitioner) is acted upon by gravity. While often there is immediate increase in flexibility, what most clients find is that the horses get better and better over time.
So how does the therapy realistically look in a horse? The initial structural integration series usually consists of five to six progressive sessions completed over a roughly three-month period. A practitioner first work on the outer layers of tissue, building trust and identifying the horse’s holding patterns and areas of fascial tension. As these outer layers become more flexible, they are able to work more deeply in the horse’s structure, releasing the deepest restrictions and integrating the areas of the body that share movement functions so that your horse can move freely, powerfully and in balance. The effects of structural integration are long-lasting because therapists are reprogramming—not simply relaxing—the connective tissue. After the initial series, horses typically require only occasional tune-ups. And all the other ways we support our equine partners can be more effective in the interim.
April E. Johnston, MS,
April Johnston is a former research scientist who re-trained as an equine structural integration practitioner in 2008. She has been teaching equine bodywork since 2010. In 2015 she and Dr. Kelleyerin Clabaugh, DVM co-founded The Equine Institute, which has three science based programs in equine fascial integration therapy, veterinary technology education and horse owner education.