The Bowen Technique

By Barry Harpur

The Bowen Technique is a complementary therapy pioneered in Australia by Thomas Bowen during the 1950s. Bowen was a labourer in a cement factory in his home town of Geelong, south west of Melbourne. He developed a soft tissue muscular technique based on intuition and observation of other physical therapists. He would treat fellow work colleagues or friends and before long word spread of his ability to heal with his technique. Thomas Bowen opened a full time clinic in the late 1950’s and by the time of his death in 1982 he was reportedly treating 13,000 people a year. People would travel for hundreds of miles to see him, often in long-term pain, and would be corrected in a couple of sessions. The technique has since been developed by practitioners trained by him and it was introduced to Britain in the 1990’s. The Bowen Technique has now become quite simply one of the most straightforward ‘hands on’ complementary therapies available.

What Is The Bowen Technique?
The Bowen Technique is a light soft tissue manipulation therapy. Using pressure with the fingers and thumbs, the practitioner applies a series of rolling moves over specific muscles, tendons and ligaments. The precise moves stimulate the nervous system encouraging circulation of blood and lymph in the affected area. The pressure that is applied by the practitioner is very little and is referred to as eyeball pressure, that is the type of pressure that could be applied to the eye, without causing pain or damage. Bowen therapy is unique in itself and cannot be compared to massage, physiotherapy, osteopathy or any other form of physical therapy. The practitioner uses the skin slack to access the tissue, applies pressure and then makes a rolling type of move over the area. The movement of the muscle creates an alarm in the brain, which in turn triggers a neural response in the body. The brain re-connects to the part of the body being worked on through the element of touch. The moves applied during the treatment help to relax and realign the body, freeing tissue tension caused by trauma, stress, injury or disease.
The body usually responds quickly to the therapy, saving greatly in both time and cost to the patient. Bowen works not only for acute injuries that have recently occurred but even long standing problems can disappear often after just a single session. The therapy is relatively new to Southern Ireland with only 9 registered Bowen practitioners on the European Bowen Therapists Register (www.bter.org). In the UK there are over 500 registered therapists and Bowen has been used by the N.H.S and private clinics for several years with fantastic results.
Since the Bowen Technique addresses the body as a whole rather than just the pre- senting symptom or disease, it embraces the physical, emotional and chemical as- pects of each person receiving a treatment. The Bowen technique works with the body and its instinctive ability to heal itself to achieve long-lasting relief without adverse side effects. The key element is the under- standing that it is not the therapist that is doing the repair. The principles of Bowen start with the conviction that the body is capable of repairing itself, given the right time and conditions.
Treatments should be scheduled between five and seven days apart and an initial set of three sessions are recommended in order to establish whether the body will respond to Bowen. The therapy is not just about easing pain, it can be used regularly to maintain optimum health by re-align- ing the body and increasing energy. Many people also find the therapy so relaxing that they use Bowen on a more regular basis simply for mental or physical main- tenance.
It Is Important To Remember The Three W’s After A Bowen Treatment: WATER: it is imperative to drink about 1- 1.5 litres of water per day after a session to reduce any side effects and to flush out the toxins.
WALK: walking will encourage the flow of lymph in the body. Lymph removes all kinds of debris from the system as well as moving fluid around the body. A gentle walk of half an hour or so should be sufficient.
WEEK: It is recommended to wait five to ten days between each treatment with seven days being an ideal time for the next treatment. This gives the body time to react to the treatment and make any nec- essary adjustments.

What Can Bowen Treat? The body is treated as a whole although there are a lot of specific conditions which respond particularly well to Bowen:
back or neck pain
sciatica
frozen shoulder
tennis/ golfers elbow
asthma
hayfever
sinusitis
digestive problems
migraine
infant colic
ME
knee/ankle problems
MS
arthritis
carpal tunnel syndrome
stress and tension based problems
relaxation
body balancing


WHAT HAPPENS DURING A TREATMENT SESSION?
A Bowen session should last just under an hour, which includes a comprehensive initial consultation. The practitioner will initially build up a profile of the patients health including lifestyle, medical history, sleeping patterns and any specific complaints. The patient will then be asked to lie face down on a plinth and will be covered with towels. No oils are used and the patient can choose to be fully clothed during the session, although results are best on skin or through light clothing. The practitioner will carry out a set of precise moves on the body usually starting on the lower and mid back moving on to the legs, knees, the upper back and shoulders before finishing with neck moves with the patient face up. Additional moves can be applied for specific conditions. The practitioner will work on one part of the body encouraging the flow of blood to the muscles and skin. This can be occasionally seen as red marks or blotches, which appear and then disappear on certain areas being worked on. The brain will then interpret these moves or messages and a point of reference is created for the body to realise what action needs to be taken. Over the course of the session there will several pauses of a few minutes in between moves during which time the practitioner will leave the room. These short breaks may seem strange but are vital as they punctuate each series of moves and allow the body time to absorb the effects of the therapy. With a Bowen move the body is thrown into a degree of confusion as to what the appropriate response mechanism should be. The breaks give the nervous system a chance to establish the correct actions. In the process other information can be gathered by the body and it is common for areas not being directly treated to respond to the treatment. Strong reactions can often occur after a session which can include tiredness, flu like symptoms, increased bowel movements, deeper sleeping or an increase in original symptoms all of which are tem- porary. The moves are so subtle that a strong reaction will often demonstrate how powerful the effects of Bowen can be. It is vital not to worry and cease the treatments in response to a strong reaction, it simply means that it is working and that the body is beginning to make its own instinctive restorative adjustments. After a session patients usually experience a sense of deep relaxation which can remain for days while the healing takes place. As the treatment is gentle and non-invasive it is also ideal for babies, children and the elderly alike. The work has no contra-indications and can even be used in acute cases, in fact Bowen is most effective for injuries that have recently occurred.

CASE STUDIES
Sciatica
Derek was in his forties and had suffered with terrible Sciatica for several years and became more painful recently by playing golf. The pain was worse in the morning and he also had a sore hip and bad knees. He was in a lot of discomfort and was taking painkillers to alleviate this. Derek decided to try the Bowen technique after a friend recommended it. He had already tried Osteopathy and Physiotherapy to no effect so he was sceptical but willing to try anything at this stage. After his first treatment, Derek reported a marked increase in mobility and his Sciatica had almost disappeared. During the second treatment, Derek reported a tingling feeling around the painful point in his back. (Localised feelings of heat and a tingling sensation are all common reactions during Bowen.) By the third treatment, Derek had made a remarkable recovery and also stated that he had much more energy than before. His knee and hip pain seemed to be linked and by his fifth treatment Derek no longer needed to continue taking his pain-killers.
Frozen Shoulder
Maria 56 years of age had a severe and stubborn frozen shoulder, which restricted her movement and caused frequent pain. This led to sleepless nights and it wasn’t before long fatigue and irritability set in. Maria had already tried a series of cortisone injections and several pain-killers to no avail and had become depressed as a result of being in constant pain. Maria decided to try the Bowen Technique and after two sessions reported a remarkable improvement in her shoulder. She was able to lift her arm straight up above her ear with no seizure or pain. Maria said after the treatment “I couldn’t believe the amazing results even after one session. You hardly notice the work being done, but it has certainly had a profound effect on my body”. Maria could now sleep at night and continue throughout the day without any hindrance or restriction in her mobility.
Anxiety
Michael aged 33 came to the clinic after the death of his father. He had noticed a considerable change on himself over 6 years going from a relaxed easy-going young man to an anxious person who suffered frequent panic attacks and slight agoraphobia. Michael had previously been referred for psychiatric help but still found the anxiety difficult to control. After the first treatment, Michael had reported an increase in energy throughout the week and felt he had released a lot of tension. By the second session, his panic attacks were less frequent and said he was remarkably calmer about leaving the house. By the third session he was confident enough to come to the treatment sessions unaccompanied and could not believe how confident he now felt. Michael still has regular Bowen for maintenance and is now slowly gaining control of his life again.

Bowen For The Future
Bowen is fast becoming the treatment of choice for many medical professionals. The European College of Bowen Studies (E.C.B.S.) have noticed a large increase over the last few years of physiotherapists, osteopaths and doctors incorporating Bowen into their work as an additional tool for addressing pain and general well-being of their patents. As Julian Baker, Director of the E.C.B.S. points out: “The Bowen Technique is without doubt a phenomenon. It bridges the gap that exists within modern medicine between interventionist drug therapy and the healing ability of the self. Tools such as Bowen show that the body has the mechanisms already in place to heal itself and that these processes need nurturing not suppressing. There needs to be a fundamental shift away from the mind of intervention and over to the view that the body has many of the answers first and the doctors second.”