SLO Rolf

04/19/2026

25 years of Structural Integration, 22 years in San Luis Obispo. Celebrating with an introductory session offer — details in the image. Call 805-701-4688 or visit slorolf.com

04/18/2026

Everyone needs Rolfing. They just don't know it. Yet!

03/20/2026

12/23/2025

I have an article in this issue of Function Structure integration. My article is called Structure Movement Proprioception: A New Paradigm for Structural Integration. This issue is on Amazon and you can purchase hard copy for $10 or kindle for $5.

07/19/2024

https://rolfing.org/articles/teaching-and-presenting-rolfing-neck-work

In March of 2023, I was asked if I was interested in travelling to Munich to present at the 2024 ERA biennial membership conference and to teach a workshop afterwards.

02/05/2024

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=919200473440601&set=a.669369021757082&__cft__[0]=AZWIkNQ_yzFM3UPgTuCqeISk7FFzSh_V9A-6D6VcbjeXkPibvJI8_NcIaEafMwFv33WnKQHA4jCtxIdSeq-KQiewtCeN1SSjzSQ8R7hOU7l_yAvgPXVTj5i0MXV-koJJsscMFsvjG2PK2tFvAntaMd-dRtYLPbOC3CEotwEFcrole4MGFJP-TVv2suMzWg7a808&__tn__=EH-R

Pain Referral & Differentiating Shoulder v Neck Pathology: Analysis by Physio Meets Science

🤷 Physical examination can help differentiate shoulder from neck pathology although there can be significant overlap. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32206519/)

👉 For identifying a cervical aetiology, the absence of biceps muscle stretch reflex is highly specific for cervical radiculopathy. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12544957/

👉 Spurling’s test has also been shown to have a high specificity (0.93) for cervical radiculopathy. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11805661/)

👉 Shoulder abduction plays a key role in the differentiation of shoulder and spine. Davidson et al showed that 68% of patients with cervical radiculopathy had relief with abduction of the arm, which elevates the dorsal root ganglion away from osteophytes and varicosities causing compression. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7302677/)

👉 In addition, Viikari-Juntura et al showed that Spurling’s test and the shoulder abduction test were both specific for cervical radiculopathy but were not sensitive. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2711240/)

👉 Caliş et al showed that shoulder abduction pain was highly specific for rotator cuff related shoulder pain, with a drop arm test having a specificity of 0.97 and a painful arc test having a specificity of 0.80. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10627426/)

👉 Gumina et al proposed the “arm squeeze test,” which hypothesizes that compression of brachial plexus nerves affected by radiculopathy in the middle arm results in increased pain compared with various shoulder pathologies. They showed a 0.96 sensitivity and 0.90 specificity using this test for the detection of cervical radiculopathy. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23604976/)

👉Rosedale and colleagues used end-range repeated movements and loading strategies in patients presenting with extremity pain and documented that over 40% of patients with extremity pain responded to spinal intervention and thus were classified as having a spinal source of symptoms. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8550529/)

🤕 Pain referral patterns:

▶︎Cervical facet joint C3-6: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13211692/
▶︎ Cervical disc C3-6: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10828920/
▶︎ Musculotendinous Interspace: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13211692/
▶︎ AC Joint &Subacromial : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9752643/
▶︎ C8 Radiculopathy: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16924193/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38191741/

📸 The following figure summarizes pain referral patterns and differentiating exam findings. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32206519/)

01/07/2024

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01/03/2024

The New York Times recently published an about the importance of fascia to an individuals health. To find out more, read the article “The Tissue That Connects Our Muscles May Be a Key to Better Health” by Danielle Friedman

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/well/move/fascia-muscle-health.html