The Grand Court of Science, The American Society of Biomechanics

I was very surprised to see NO REFERENCE to Ida Rolf or Structural Integration, or Rolfing in this FREE FORUM OPEN TO ANYONE. If I searched correctly, no member (out of 40,000!) is a Roofer, or a Structural Integrator, or a school of SI. Some suppliers seem to know of Rolfing, but we shine by our absence from where things are happening.

This forum unites Schools, Faculty, Students, Ph.D.s, Masters, Publishers, Suppliers, Job searches and offers, etc. throughout the world, relating to Biomechanics, … By the way this site is a model our community could use instead of the historical divisions by schools, as it is much more efficient in researching and accessing information, and expanding everyone’s knowledge about the subject. The big areas, Posture, Gait, and Movement analysis, of the human body, but also other species.

Systems vary in the technology they use: often it starts with a Video acquisition (usually several cameras for gait and movement, one for posture only), but some systems can be expanded to use very specific acquisition devices such as weight sensitive hardware, etc. Of course they provide all kinds of 3D models for the entertainment industry: movies, cartoons, computer animations, etc…

They are taking the human movement into all kinds of little pieces, as well as general integrated Posture-gait-general-movements analysis. the top systems can tell you how imbalanced gait is (R-L, Phase Timing…) as well as if the patient is faking the complaint (for insurances), or how much off-Plumb Line people are in standing Posture.

They are on the edge of measuring Movement Harmony, equilibrium positions (of walking, running, etc.). They are discovering and refining everyday, in computer and mathematical terms, among other things, the gravity plumb line, the “ideal” posture, the “ideal” gait, “ideal” movements. They are novelizing what we thrive to experience.

Of course they are also deeply involved in the philosophical and sensual debates of Posture-Gait-Movement analysis. What am I saying(?): they ARE at the core of those reflections. This brings up the questions: shouldn’t we be involved in these debates, where philosophy meets science and where science thrives to meet the ultimum experience of a “perfect Body”. Shouldn’t our very own Integrated Body model be confronted to the latest scientifically operational models?

When I look at our literature from the 70′s (our very own textbook), I think I see that Ida Rolf herself was certainly not closed to documenting and analyzing our results in a format that others would understand (especially science: the single reference for the world of decision makers). Her academic strong scientific background suggests that she would actually be quite open to fully disclosed statistical reports (see: case study).