Judith Clinton was thrown from a horse when she was pregnant with her third child. She landed on her hip, didn't notice a bruise and deivered a healthy girl six months later. "Whatever imbalance my pelvis and sacrum took with the hit, being pregnant aggravated a minor injury," said Ms. Clinton. "After my daughter was a year old, I had a lot of back pain. I went to a chiropractor for 10 years."

She said the adjustments would only last a couple of days and as soon as she picked up her children, worked in her garage, or did everyday chores, she would throw her back out.

"I was doing yoga, aerobics and thinking 'Maybe I just need to strengthen my back,' " she explained. "Anytime I sneezed or worked too hard the sacrum would twist and torque."

She found pain relief - and eventually a new career from Rolfing Structural Iteration. Named after its creator Dr. Ida P. Rolf, Rolfing is described by The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration as a holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organizes the entire body in gravity.

"I had a gazillion massages and this was above and beyond," said Ms. Clinton. "It was getting things out of balance into balance... and my posture changed."

She explained that when her posture improved, lessening the twisting and torque of her bones, as well as correcting her sway back, flat feet and knocked knees, she "grew" - going from 5-foot-8 inches tall to 5-foot-9 1/4. Even her shoe size changed.

In 1984, Ms. Clinton traveled between her home in Maine and The Rolf Institute in Boulder, Colorado, to complete her training and become a Certified Rolfer. It took her a year and a half. She returned in 1991 for Advanced Rolfer training and later took four weeks of additional schooling to attain the Advanced Rolfer and Movement teacher level.

Ms. Clinton is nationally certified (through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork) as well as state licensed.

In 1996, she branched out from her home and practice in Beaufort (North Carolina) and commuted to Wilmington (North Carolina) three days a week to work withthe Center for Complementary Healing Arts. After a year, she made the move to Wilmington permanent.

In addition to her work at the Center, she is associated with UNCW's voice department and works with the Cancer Support Life and Enrichment program. She has also worked with employees at industrial plants, helping to educate them on recognizing the repetitive stress movements they put on their bodies and offering them self-help tips. She also works by appointment.

The 60-year-old, who enjoys gardening, swimming, yoga, walking, bicycling, reading and going to movies in her free time, also fits in a personal Rolf session for herself once a month.

"A lot of this work is educational," she said. "It's different from chiropractic and massage. It's so interactive. I love this. It's never boring."

Ms. Clinton has since moved to Coralville, Iowa and is taking appointments for Rolfing sessions at (319) 512-3413.

Article originally appeared in the Wilmington, NC Star-News: New Career Found in Quest for Pain Relief by Barbara Booth