Rossiter System

[Regina George]

Hi all,

I just read an article on this technique in the new Body Sense magazine. Anyone familiar with it? Experiences giving or receiving this work?

Thank you much!

 

[lemonchicka]

Rossiter system

I just read the article tonight. I went to the website and looked up more information. It sounds interesting, almost like a modified version of Michael Young's MRT. The concept sounds the same.

 

[Bejo]

Rossiter System

I had a session of the Rossiter work last year from a friend who is a Structural Integration practitioner and who had done one of the Rossiter workshops. It was very interesting work. I laid on the floor on the pads and she used a pole to balance while she used her feet to work on my arms and chest. I felt all the tightness as she had me move my arms and hands while applying pressure. When I stood up I felt that my posture had improved and my head was more centered over my body and I felt looser. The next day I had lots of soreness! It had been some time since I'd had deep bodywork, so the soreness was to be expected.
I was fascinated by this work and think it would be useful for people who do repetitive work-like MTs.
Hope this is informative,
rubmyster

 

[queniano]

I did order the book suggested in the BodySense article and if it works, may go more in-depth with the system designed for therapists at the Rossiter website.

This work could be a great compliment for Thai, as these clients are already clothed on the floor on densely padded mats and expecting to be stretched. The difference would be the increased level of client participation. But by and large, my Thai-preferring clients take more personal responsibility for their bodies and their health than the table-only clients, so I doubt this would be an issue if it's incorporated smoothly and without disruption.

I had one client in mind when I read about this system. Even if I know when I arrive she wants table work that day, she still expects me to lay out the Thai mats so we can do a good 20 minutes of stretching her first. She's made an absolutely incredible improvement over the past year just by diligently and patiently stretching and walking a little more nearly every day and getting plenty of bodywork.

So after trying it out thoroughly I'll post back how it went and if I've changed my mind regarding possible applications.

 

[eEz]

Rossiter system

Thanks MRSkitten. I will be eager to hear your opinion. I found that the training for this modality is just to far away from MN to work for me. I can't afford the travel expense. It sure sounds beneficial though.

 

[Mystery...]

Well, they seem to have sessions all over, so don't give up. But the "Surgery Sucks" is a basic starting place to see if I want to take it further, and hey, it's only 40 bucks.

I'm really excided to see how it works for the client I mentioned. She's very attuned to her body, gives excellent feedback, and has done Rolfing in the past, so how she responds to this will be interesting!

 

[Rusty Steele]

Hi again! the book was on backorder for a month but it arrived today ahead of schedule.

The cover is floppy cardstock and it is spiral-bound. I was hoping that for $40 the cover would at least be plastic-treated to add some sturdiness. Will need to do this myself or it will dog-ear and fall apart quickly. The phots are not in color and could be better quality. I don't know where they got the color pics featured in Bodysense!

I am going to bring it with me to give it a try with Ms. Stretching client tonight and will update after a week or regular use.

 

[margaret m]

Rossiter system

Sorry to hear about the book not being very sturdy. They should figure that when you are new at this modality, you will be referring to the book often and it needs to stand up to frequent use.

It will be good to hear what your client thinks of this treatment modality.

 

[Tori ?????]

Okay, I read carefully through it and really think they have something here. It seems to also be well-organized. I ordered two more copies because my puppy (in the photo) took it off the table and ATE it. The cat at a client's house was resting on it yesterday and that must have been the attraction, because he's never done something quite that naughty before, certainly not to a book.

The second copy is for newish client who's had an awful time getting mobility back after, you guessed it, a knee surgery that was supposed to "cure" his pain. Now it's worse and thanks to all the scar tissue, he can't even move as he did before. :evil:

 

[Ambu]

Okay, here's the update. I've been doing this with a client who has virtually NO upper body strength. She is slender, eats healthy, is very flexible, exercises and has a very strong lower body, but her arms are so weak she can't do even one push-up with knees on floor. This is partly the result of a horrific car accident (arms were pinned beneath) and some very poorly-executed liposuction to the upper arms. The entire triceps/biceps tissue areas feel 'gristly' and aches constantly.

We've been working the Rossiter program in at least twice a month, and she books an average of three weekly sessions: generally Thai, occasionally table work. We would do the program more often, but it's really tricky for her to do The Lock and not also engage her neck (another huge problem area). So we've done the arm program only a few times total, but here's the result:

She can now do FOUR back-to-back push ups, and then four more if she rests for a moment. Her arms are still a problem but there is a lot more flexibility and they don't ache quite as much. This is a HUGE improvement for her, and for the first time in her entire life, she is beginning to appreciate and enjoy her arms.
t041
So far the program has exceeded our expectations, because they make no promises if the body's connective tissue has already been damaged by surgery, which hers most emphactically has. It's easy to follow (though I wish the photos were in color) and it does get unexpectedly amazing results.

 

[Mikey]

So, do you think a person needs some exposure to stretching techniques and footwork to learn some of this technique from a book? Or are the photos and text explanatory enough to be useful to a typical massage background?

 

[emm]

Oh, heck no. All you need is a foot, literacy, and a brain to apply the two. Some of the techniques require a little experience to get them perfect, but that's it.

 

[LilMissRainbow]

Excellent! I'll put it on the list, I've been wondering about this since I saw the article, thanks for the report, MRSkitten!

 

[Slappy LaRue]

Yes, thanks MRSKitten! It's great to hear the modality is producing such good results. I bet your client is very thankful you found the Rossiter System.

 

[Pompal 09.]

I am thankful that SHE is always willing to try something new. We have found many helpful things for her conditions that way.

This book is written for laypeople, so as a therapist we may get more out of it given our training and background in physiology, but that's not necessary to apply the system.

What is critical is that the Person In Charge (the person doing the actual stretching while the Coach applies the pressure) absolutely MUST be willing to work hard at engaging the stretch. This is not going to be helpful for the passive or lazy. t015