MD article on Bowenwork

[Guest guest]

Dr. Robert Jay Rowen's

 

SECOND OPINION

 

The Gentlest, Most Effective Pain Therapy Ever!

 

 

If you're suffering from pain in your neck, shoulders, lower back, pelvis or

extremities, you can be pain free and experience a full range of motion

instantly! And you can enjoy this new found relief without drugs, surgery,

supplements, or painful needles!

 

Sound impossible? It's not!

 

In fact, not only is it possible, it's easy and gentle. What you are about to

read is probably the most sensational story about pain relief you will ever

read!

 

One year ago at a medical conference in Fort Lauderdale, the last speaker,

Joanne Whitaker, MD, a soft-spoken older physician, told of instant and dramatic

relief of pain and suffering by a technique I had never heard of. Dr. Whitaker

explained that the technique was so invaluable and effective for the relief of

pain that she long ago gave up all other treatment modalities, therapies, and

practices. She instead committed her professional life to this method, which, on

the surface, seemed so simple that it could not possibly be true.

 

At the end of her one-hour lecture, she and her colleague invited the physicians

in the audience to come up to the podium and sample treatments for neck and

shoulder problems. I watched as doctor after doctor sat in the chair facing

these senior ladies, described their long-term pain or movement anomaly, and

received a " treatment. "

 

My jaw hit the floor as the majority of them expressed absolute shock that their

pain was reduced or gone. But, even more startling, since the sensation of pain

could be subjective, was the instant and dramatic improvement in their range of

motion. And all that these two ladies did was just gently " flick " some muscles!

 

Dr. Whitaker was introducing us to the gentlest therapy I have ever seen. It's

called Bowen Therapy, which is named after its discoverer, a humble layman named

Tom Bowen of Australia. People in pain somehow found their way to Tom. Claiming

his insight was a gift from God, Tom discovered that gently manipulating muscles

or tendons could relieve a very large variety of complaints, and not just

musculoskeletal, but also organ dysfunction. As the years went by, Tom's fame

spread and he had lines of people waiting for his healing hands to give them

relief.

 

Now you're probably very familiar with chiropractic adjustments, where joints

are manipulated. But muscles? How can this simple therapy possibly bring about

profound effects on conditions such as respiratory infections, PMS, pelvic

problems, kidney function, and more?

 

Muscles operate in one dimension-they contract linearly. Three-dimensional

movement is made possible by several muscle groups moving a joint, each

contracting in a different direction. Muscles and tendons are richly filled with

nerve spindles that sense tension and position. They're tied in with the

autonomic nervous system for instant regulatory feedback to the whole associated

area of the body.

 

The adjustment of Bowen Therapy is called a " move, " which is made across or

perpendicular to the muscle or tendon, 90 degrees to its line of fibers. The

therapist simply places their fingers over the central portion of the muscle

belly and then stretches the skin across the muscle to contract its edge. Slight

pressure is placed on the edge of the muscle belly (in a 90-degree direction to

its line of force) so that the muscle is exposed to a gentle perpendicular

stretch. Then on the outgoing breath, the practitioner " moves " his fingers

across the muscle to the other edge. This results in discharge of the nerve

spindles within the muscle or tendon that can cause instant relaxation of that

muscle or other associated muscles.

 

In Bowen Therapy, muscle moves apparently have the ability to reset the

autonomic nervous system. This can result in greater blood flow, oxygen

delivery, and restoration of cellular activity in the whole distribution of that

segment of the ANS (both muscles and organs.) An added benefit is the

stimulation of lymph flow, which aids in detoxification and, thus, cancer

prevention.

 

Tom taught groups of moves for specific areas of the body, and above all, taught

that more treatment is not necessarily better. Groups of moves are called

" procedures, " so treating the neck would involve a " neck procedure, " treatment

of the lower back is a " lower back procedure, " and so forth. There may be few to

several muscle/tendon moves for each procedure. Sessions typically take 30

minutes, but sometimes can last up to an hour, depending on the areas of needed

treatment, and previous Bowen Therapy preparation of the individual.

 

I came home from the conference I mentioned at the outset and told my wife about

it and our need to learn the therapy. Terri, an acupuncturist/physician, had

just heard of Bowen Therapy, as well, and agreed we needed training in this

needleless technique. Amazingly enough, a patient told us there was a Bowen

practitioner in our building, Sandra Gustafson, who is originally from

Australia. To our great delight, she was a world-class Bowen instructor and was

preparing to teach a series of weekend sessions. The timing was perfect!

 

After just a few weekends, I got my first opportunity to try Bowen Therapy on a

patient. Susan, a 35-year-old woman, came to me for prolotherapy for her lower

back. When I saw her, she was experiencing significant pelvic pain from

menstruation. We were unable to do prolotherapy that visit because of a lack of

required X-ray studies, so I offered Bowen Therapy instead to try to assist her

menstrual discomfort. I " strummed " several muscle groups and tendons in her back

an upper legs. To the amazement of the patient, her husband, and myself, the

menstrual pain almost fully abated on the spot and did not return!

 

But the incredible results didn't stop with Susan. Ted, a delightful 89-year-old

man, came to see me for severe pain in his right hip and was barely able to

walk. He was interested in prolotherapy, as conventional treatment had failed. I

performed Bowen Therapy, doing the lower back and hip procedures, and he walked

out of the office ecstatic, scarcely using his cane.

 

Then there's my father, who at 84 suffered from chronic hard-core general back

pain for years. On a recent visit to our home, I performed the " low, mid, and

upper-back " procedures and he was absolutely shocked at the nearly full relief

of pain.

 

One very important observation Tom made is the absolute need to allow the body

to adjust to the moves. Hence, after a certain number of moves (usually four)

the practitioner stops treatment and leaves the room for two minutes, allowing

the nervous system to absorb the information before continuing.

 

Acute sprains and injuries are easily treated as well. My wife sprained her

ankle at one of the Bowen instructional sessions. Sandra quickly performed a few

delicate moves on the tendons around her ankle and the pain was reduced by 80

percent!

 

Back in January, I first introduced you to Bowen Therapy and how I used it to

treat a man who developed spontaneous frozen shoulders. I simply strummed his

upper back and shoulder muscles and he regained most of his movement in days-and

this was after months of immobility.

 

Bowen Therapy has procedures for carpal tunnel syndrome, elbow problems,

temporal mandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ,) and foot problems (including

plantar fasciitis.) Here are a few of the areas Bowen Therapy can work:

 

The coccyx procedure, a gentle move along the coccyx, performed after careful

preparation in previous sessions, may relieve childhood bed wetting,

gynecological complaints (including PMS, menopause, fibroids, ovarian or uterine

symptoms,) prostate problems, sciatica, and migraines.

 

The upper respiratory/TMJ procedure can provide lasting relief for allergies,

ear problems (including deafness, Meniere's disease, and tinnitus), Bell's

palsy, influenza, headaches, TMJ problems, and upper respiratory infections.

 

The lower respiratory procedure, which moves along the insertion of the

diaphragm on the lower rib cage, may relieve lung problems (including

infections,) and gastrointestinal complaints secondary to

liver/gallbladder/pancreas dysfunction. While my wife and I were in India in

February, one of the Americans at our facility developed a severe case of

influenza/bronchitis with wheezing in her lungs. With nothing available for her

but symptom-suppressing drugs, I performed the upper-back (prerequisite) and

lower respiratory procedure. She approached me daily over the next few days to

let me know how much better she felt, and that she was able to participate in

the regular activities.

 

Another friend of mine, Linda (who is 55 years-old,) had abnormal gallbladder

function (white colored stools and gas,) yet normal radiological studies. I had

her see a Bowen Therapist in her local area, and in one session, with " moves "

along her upper abdomen, her stools became much darker.

 

Are there risks? Hardly. The client may get so profoundly relaxed during the

procedure that upon arising from the treatment table, they might get momentarily

lightheaded. My wife gets so relaxed, that she sleeps better afterward. I also

fall asleep on the table. You might hardly notice you are being touched. From my

observations, this most gentle and completely safe therapy restores the flow of

blocked energy, modulates the ANS, and can correct improper tension in the

muscles.

 

Bowen Therapy is brilliant! It's quick, painless, and is easy on the patient and

the practitioner as well. Usually, only a few sessions are needed, with sessions

scheduled one week apart. Indeed, Tom Bowen was documented as seeing over 13,000

patients per year, and claimed an 88 percent success rate. That's a whopping

number of visits by any standards for any single therapist! And to have a

success rate that high is absolutely unheard of in any practice.

 

Bowen Therapy is not massage, acupressure, chiropractic, energy healing, trigger

(point) therapy, fascia release, or physiotherapy. It does gently rock the

connective tissue (fascia,) but the moves stimulate the body to heal itself in

its own manner, like a catalyst, rather than force a healing reaction through

significant input of outside energy. It's not a cure-all and like all therapies,

it has failures.

 

If you're interested in looking further into this fascinating therapy, either

for treatment or training, the website www.bowtech.com contains more

information. For those without computers, the U.S. contact is: United States

Bowen Registry, 337 North Rush St., Prescott, AZ 86301, Phone: 1-866-TO BOWEN

(866-862-6936,) e-mail: USBR.

 

 

Kevin Thurber is a Certified Bowen Therapist from Seattle. To contact him with

your questions, call 206.328.5300

 

 

 

Kevin Thurber, LMP

Everybody's Better with Bowen

aikneada

206.328.5300

 

 

Kevin Thurber, LMP

Everybody's Better with Bowen

aikneada

206.328.5300