The Bowen Technique by Clifford G. Jones MBTER, ITEC

The Origin of Bowen Therapy

The Bowen Technique was pioneered by Thomas Ambrose Bowen, born in Geelong, Australia in 1916. Tom developed a great interest in body work. He began by observing sports trainers and others at work and by the time he was in his early 40's, this gifted man had established a full time practice in remedial therapy using the technique he had developed. In 1978 he was interviewed by a parliamentary committee looking into complementary medicine, to whom he stated under oath that he treated about 280 patients per week with the help of an assistant and a receptionist. That makes an incredible 13,000 patients a year, 88% of whom required only two or three treatments. Mr Bowen died in 1982 but today there are a number of flourishing therapies based on his work. In the same spirit Mr Max Walker of Narrogin, WA has built on the foundation Tom laid and furthered the technique and our understanding.

What does a treatment involve?

A Bowen treatment usually takes about 45 minutes and most of the work can be performed through light clothing.

The therapist makes up to four gentle, rolling moves with his fingers or thumbs at specific places on the body, over muscles, tendons or joints, after which he will wait for a few minutes to allow the body to absorb the effect of the moves before executing the next set of moves.

A peculiarity of the technique is that it often follows the law that “less is more”. In other words the power of the moves can be diluted by further work so that some-times the greater effect is achieved by fewer moves.

The moves can start bodily adjustments which can continue for several days after the treatment, therefore we normally review the effect of a treatment between six and ten days afterwards.

Two or three treatments, a week apart, are often sufficient to achieve lasting relief from even long standing pain, although further treatments may sometimes be required. Thereafter a maintenance treatment is often advisable to keep the body in order; these may be one to three months apart.

To maximize the benefit of treatment the body must be properly hydrated therefore it is recommended that the client drinks about two litres of unchlorinated water daily and that other hands on therapies are not mixed with Bowen within a week of treatment.

How does Bowen therapy work?

In answering this question please distinguish clearly between facts, theory and truth.

Facts are basic, and in this case, are the observable effects of that which we do and which we can verify by repetition. The facts are incontrovertible; Bowen therapy works.

Theory is guesswork; an attempt to explain the facts. Theories are regularly proven wrong and replaced by more satisfactory explanations. Theory in most cases has little to do with truth.

There are three areas of theory which try to explain Bowen therapy. Each is looking at the body from a different perspective.

Scientific studies show that Bowen moves affect the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). As the ANS controls about 80% to 90% of our body systems, that goes someway to explaining why Bowen moves on the periphery of the body can affect all body systems. It is assumed that golgi tendon organs in the tendons detect the Bowen move and start a sequence of nervous signals in which the body balances itself. From an energetic perspective the Bowen moves are performed on some points known to Chinese medicine and clearly affect energy flows within the body.

A third theory sees the Bowen moves as stimulating the thixotropic ground substance in the fascia. The ground substance in the matrix of fascia is thixotropic, which means that it can change its state. It is a liquid crystal. Think of Maple syrup; when warm it is runny but if it dehydrates it becomes hard and crystaline. For optimum health ground substance needs to be runny, that is called a "sol", it can however set like a jelly or become a hard crystal. The latter two states cause pathology in the tissues invested by the fascia. Max Walker’s contribution has been to discover the flow paths and places where the flow gets blocked. If there is no flow of ground substance in fascia then the muscle or organ it invests will be liable to suffer a pathological state. By expediting this flow, the treatment re-establishes homeostasis in the musculature and the organs.

Dr James Oschmann who has studied fascia, says that it consists of a liquid crystal medium which has piezoelectric properties. Oschmann believed that the fascia is probably a communications system at least as complex as the nervous system. So far, however, scientists have not found ways of measuring much of it. The fascial signals, he claims penetrate into the internals of the body’s cells through a protein matrix.

Conditions that have responded well to Bowen therapy

MUSCULO-SKELETAL PAIN:

• Frozen Shoulder/Shoulder Pain
• Tennis Elbow
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Arthritic Pain
• TMJ Syndrome
• Scoliosis
• Postural problems
• Gait Disorders
• Leg Length Discrepancies
• Plantar fasciitis
• Shin Splints
• Foot and ankle problems
• Hernia
• Knee and hip restrictions
• Pelvic problems
• RSI / OSS
• Sciatica

RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS:

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Hay Fever
• Sinusitis
• Allergies

DIGESTIVE DISORDERS:

• Constipation
• Colic
• Crohn's Disease
• Indigestion
• Bowel problems
• IBS

GYNECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS:

• Infertility
• Mastitis
• Pre Menstrual Syndrome
• Breast Lumps
• Twisted uterus

PREGNANCY:

The Bowen technique is an incredibly useful tool, but when it comes to working with pregnant women Bowen comes into its own.

Early Pregnancy
• Assists and allows changes to take place more easily.

During Pregnancy
• Back Ache/Sciatica
• Breast tendernes
• Swollen legs
• Carpal Tunnel
• General wellbeing and energy levels

Post Pregnancy
• To re-align after childbirth
• Mastitis
• Excellent for babies with colic

CHILDREN'S PROBLEMS:

• Asthma
• Glue Ear, Sinus problems
• Headache and Migraine
• Colic and Indigestion
• Cerebral Palsy
• Dyspraxia
• ADHD
• Autism

PERFORMERS:

Dancers, athletes and sportsmen use Bowen to:

• improve flexibility
• improve performance
• lessen the occurrence of injury
• treat sports injuries

ALSO:

• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Migraine/Headaches
• Vertigo/Balance Problems
• Tinnitus
• Bed Wetting in Children
• Hemorrhoids
• Prostate problems
• Earache and ear infections
• Stress Management
• General Relaxation and body balancing

Client Testimonies

... earlier this year ... I had been suffering from a long term injury to my left knee which was getting worse and making driving to work difficult. After one treatment, five days later the knee suddenly improved and after another two sessions it was completely back to normal. I was so impressed that I asked Cliff to treat my 17 year old daughter who suffered from very bad hay fever and was about to take her A levels. In past years she has been so ill during exam time that she has been unable to do her best. This year was very dif-ferent, she had 4 sessions with Cliff and sailed through her exams with minimal symptoms. We were both very grateful to Cliff.
Regards
Margaret Calder Newbury

Dear Cliff,
I am writing to say thank you for the work that you have done using the Bo-wen treatment. After around 15 years of suffering extreme pain in both an-kles, you gave me 4 treatments. After each one, things seemed to be getting better, and by the last treatment the pains had gone, after all the years of suf-fering and taking many medications. You also carried out work on my neck and shoulders which gave me more movement and freedom from the tight-ness than I have for a great number of years. Again many, many thanks for the great work you have done with the Bowen Method.
Yours sincerely
Ron Russell R.V.M. Ascot

The Bowen treatment was effective at greatly reducing my tiredness, result-ing in more energy and get up and go. Muscular pains in my neck were re-lieved which also eliminated my headaches. My optician said that my eyes were back in balance as a result of the treatment.
M. Hall. Didcot

Dear Cliff,
In December last, I suffered from back pain and sciatica. The sheer pain meant that I had extreme difficulty in achieving the simplest daily tasks and, although I was taking both painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, I was not at all confident about being able to take my planned week’s skiing holiday in January. Following four Bowen treatments, I am happy to say that not only did I get away on holiday but the pain had been alleviated to such an extent that I forgot about it. Needless to say, I am grateful for your treatment. I cer-tainly intend to maintain a continuing “preventative” Bowen treatment pro-gramme.
Yours,
Howard Ormerod, East Hagbourne

A letter to an editor
Dear Sir
My reason for writing to you is to tell you about my experience with the Bo-wen Therapy for asthma. I found this treatment very effective from the outset but have purposely left it 3 years before contacting you, to verify the longer term benefits. I can now confidently report how effective it has been and to say that it is such a relief not to have to rely on drugs anymore. I am an Asthmatic, and I have been having the Bowen Therapy for three years and rarely have any breathing problems now.

A little bit about myself- From the age of two (I am 65 now) I had chronic asthma. I had very little relief because there were no drugs to provide instant relief then. In my twenty’s things improved, Intal Compound was my saviour, I used it for years and had good relief from it. About 10 years ago my GP took me off of it, apparently there had been a few deaths from it. I was then put on Ventolin and Becloforte. Just over 3 years ago I was having trouble with ar-rhythmia, so my heart specialist told me to stop taking Ventolin, and to dou-ble up on Becloforte. I used to use Ventolin 2 or 3 times a day, and was now scared to use it, and scared not to. A friend of mine, who is a homeopath, suggested that the Bowen Therapy might help me ... that was 3 years ago. Af-ter a few treatments I could see it was working. I initially had 4 treatments, one session each week, then once every 3 weeks for a while. Now, I just have top up treatments about twice a year. I never use my Ventolin, and only use the Becloforte maybe two or three times a year.
Pamela Hill
Barnehurst

Clifford G. Jones MBTER, ITEC | Whitestones, Foxglove Lane, West Hagbourne, Oxon. OX11 0NW, UK Tel: 01235 851549; www.hope4health.co.uk