Treatments from La Vie Therapies
Bowen
La Vie Therapies Bowen Technique complementary therapy
Bowen technique can reflect positively with:
• Poor mobility
• Allergies
• Asthma and other respiratory problems
• Back problems & Sciatica
• Bell’s palsy
• Digestive upsets & Constipation and diarrhoea
• Foot problems (plantar fasciitis and bunions)
• Frozen shoulder
• Headaches (migraine, sinus)
• Hernia and heartburn
• Bedwetting, incontinence
• Jaw & Ear problems
• Knee and hip restrictions
• Menstrual and other female problems
• Pelvic tilt, leg length, hip imbalance
• Skeletal and muscular problems
• Sports injuries
• Tennis/golfer’s elbow/RSI (Repetitive strain Injury) & Carpal Tunnel
• Fibromyalgia
This therapy works without manipulation benefitting people of all ages including new born infants to help address both physical and emotional issues. It is safe and can be given through light clothing, a holistic treatment which facilitates the body to heal itself, promote energy and wellbeing.
Bowen can assist the body’s restorative process by:
• Balancing body systems and stimulating healing
• Assisting with posture and alignment
• Improving mobility
• Stimulating circulation and lymphatic systems
• Nutrient absorption
• Assisting recovering from sports injuries
• Helping long term complaints, accidents and injuries
• Detoxifying the body
• Providing relaxation and counteracting the effects of stress
How it works
A Bowen treatment addresses the fascia, connective tissue, muscles and body structures. (Fascia is a sheet of connective tissue that covers the structures of the body allowing for flexibility and movement, it is responsible for posture and how we hold our spine.)
Purposeful rolling moves are performed on these structures, usually the belly of a muscle. When a move is performed a message is sent to the brain regarding the status of that muscle, the brain responds accordingly sending back corrective information to the muscle. Other moves work on the nervous and endocrine systems like a signal to stimulate a function; the body responds in its own time, as it is able. All moves done around a joint directly affect the joint capsule and ligaments. It is important not to receive other forms of therapy a week either side of a Bowen
treatment as this may interfere with its effectiveness.
The body’s autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls over 80% of bodily functions (cardiac, respiratory, peripheral circulation, reproduction, endocrine system, and the gastrointestinal system) these systems are very susceptible to stress and emotional tensions. Bowen works deep at cellular level and facilitates wellbeing through the balance of the ANS. Many of the moves are located along meridians or acupressure points which help stimulate energy and clear blockages.
Bowen is deeply relaxing, addressing the whole body. Clients usually lie on a massage couch or bed but Bowen work can be performed with the client on a chair, if required for comfort. There are periods when the practitioner leaves the treatment room to allow the body to respond to a move and treatments can last from 15 minutes to 1 hour depending on what the body requires. Usually a treatment plan is required but benefits are often felt after the first treatment.
A little bit of history
Thomas Bowen (1916 – 1982) began developing his technique in the 1950’s in Australia. Whilst he was working at a cement works he became interested in ways to alleviate human suffering and started to treat people after work. Having no therapeutic background, self- taught from books he found useful and through meeting other therapists.
Tom Bowen had many people who watched him work including six physical therapists, one of which started teaching his interpretation of the work in 1982 after Bowen’s death. It is due to the work of this man, Ossie Rentsch that the work has become widespread around the world today. Ossie studied Mr Bowen’s technique for two and a half years and was authorized by him to document the work.
Because this technique is so effective, it has been widely embraced by many people and continues to astonish with its effectiveness. www.bowen-technique.co.uk
Bowen Technique and Frozen Shoulders
By John Wilks
Although the Bowen Technique is relatively new to the UK, studies in the USA and Australia have shown the technique to be highly effective in the treatment of ‘difficult’ conditions such as Fibromyalgia, and chronic back pain - conditions which are often expensive to treat using surgery and other orthodox techniques.
In the UK the technique has proved itself as a highly efficient and cost-effective tool for physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and other CAM Practitioners. A recent study on the evaluation of the Bowen Technique in the treatment of Frozen Shoulder undertaken by Dr Bernie Carter, principal lecturer in Children’s Nursing at the University of Central Lancashire found:
•‘A high level of satisfaction with the therapy, a commitment to using Bowen in the future should they require it for another episode of frozen shoulder or other condition, and the intention to recommend the therapy and therapist to friends and family.’
•‘A significant improvement in shoulder mobility and associated function for all participants, with 70% of participants regaining full mobility (equal to the non-affected side) by the end of the treatment.’
•‘Markedly reduced pain intensity scores and pain quality descriptors for all participants, although some participants recorded scores of 1-3 that they described as a slight ache to a mild pain. Participants at the end of the study no longer used the intense and invasive pain descriptors.’
The Bowen Technique cannot, from this study, claim to be 100% successful but it demonstrated a significant improvement for participants, even those with a very longstanding history of frozen shoulder. For the majority of participants it provided a good outcome particularly in relation to improved mobility. All participants experienced improvement in their daily activities. None of the participants reported that their pain was having a severe impact on their daily activities, and there was a decrease in the reports of mild and moderate impact by the end of the treatment. For the majority of participants (even those with a longstanding problem) it provided a good outcome particularly in relation to improved mobility. In terms of the outcome measures used in other studies – success rate, mobility, pain and functional status – Bowen can be seen to be a positive intervention and certainly one which participants in the study evaluated as being highly satisfactory.
Notes (1) Reviewed in ‘Complementary Therapies in Medicine’ Issue 01/032, ‘Health Which’ (July 2002) and Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery
Written by John Wilks, thank you John, www.cyma.org.uk
