Free Pain Relief Newsletter  Click Here Articles - Bowen & Frozen Shoulder Gentle Touch Produces Miracles Gentle Bowen Pain Relief Technique Pain Zapper Fibromyalgia Relief At Your Fingertips Gentlest, Most Effective Pain Therapy Ever! Bowen Technique For Pain Relief - Dramatic Healings The Bowen Technique:  In short, it worked! Bowen Technique:  One of those too good to be true stories The Making of the Bowen Video Wonder From Down Under:  The Bowen Technique Bowen Therapy From Australia Power of the Gentle Touch. Hands-On Approach To Relief Bowen Technique and Frozen Shoulder What is Bowen Therapy, and How Does It Work? Bowen Technique and Childhood Asthma The Healing Power of Foods Movement Is Medicine Water Cure Miracles [ E-Mail this article to a Friend ] Bowen Technique  and Frozen Shoulder by Sylvia Thompson (Reprinted from The Irish Times, July, 200 Edition) What is it?  A hands-on non manipulative therapy, the Bowen Technique involves the practitioner rolling the muscle and connective tissue on various parts of the body.  The thumbs and fingers are used but the touch is gentle, with little pressure applied. A feature of the technique is a series of breaks during which no work is done and the patient is not touched.  This is believed to give the body an opportunity to respond to the information gradually and begin the process of healing itself. What does it treat? The Bowen Technique is a complementary therapy and not a substitute for medical advice or treatment. However, practitioners prefer that their clients are not undergoing other treatments at the same time as the Bowen Technique.  Back pain, neck pain, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, repetitive strain injury and other musculoskeletal disorders are believed to respond well to the Bowen Technique. Practitioners also report success with asthma and other respiratory problems, hay fever, kidney problems, insomnia and arthritis. A First Timer's Experience (A 54 year old male member of the caring profession) My first reaction to the therapist was that she seemed very relaxed, confident and reassuring.  I was asked to fill in a brief form regarding my personal and medical details.  Then, I explained my particular medical problems and the therapist spoike a little about the Bowen Technique. I was asked to take off my jacket and shoes and lie on my abdomen on the plinth.  The therapist began to make rolling movement of the muscles on various parts of my body - my ankles, my lower back, my mid back, my shoulders and my neck. After this, she left the room and came back a few minutes later.  She explained that these gaps were to allow the healing to begin. During this process, there was soothing music in the background.  The room was warm with a pleasant aroma.  Then, she asked me to lie on my back and repeated the rolling movements with her thumbs and fingers on my ankles, legs, shoulders and neck. The session lasted an hour and I felt a bit mystified by the process, wondering how such a simple, gentle movement could effect major change.  The therapist emphasized the need to drink plenty of water after the treatment. She advised me that I need at least three to four sessions to get some real benefit.  She also said that I shouldn't participate in any aggressive exercise such as golf or tennis between treatments.  I felt relaxed and refreshed afterwards. An Advocate's View Mara Brady is a fifty-something mother of two grown-up children.  "Six years ago, I developed a pain in my left arm which my GP diagnosed as tendonitis.  Following a course of anti-inflammatories, I had a cortisone injection in my left shoulder. When the pain returned I decided to go to a chiropractor.  After protracted visits the problem eventually healed, but later I developed similar symptoms in my right shoulder.  I went back to the chiropractir but my shoulder didn't repair. Around this time, I read about the Bowen Technique and found a Bowen Therapist.  Two years later, I am still going once a fortnight. She has worked on both my arms and shoulders.  Each treatment gives me a great sense of calm.  I believe the treatment taps into your whole body, sending messages to the brain to repair damaged tissues.  It has also had a great effect on my bowels and digestive system, which are good barometers of how you are feeling. I also sleep better.  I believe everybody needs "a little bit of Bowen." The Medical View Dr. Muiris Houston The Irish Times Medical Correspondent says:  "There is considerable evidence from random controlled trials of the effectiveness of all types of manipulation for back and neck pain.  A specific random trial looking at the Bowen Technique for frozen shoulder has demonstrated an improvement of 23 degrees in the range of movement of the shoulder joint in the treatment group.  Overall, 67 percent of patients in the trial showed significant levels of improvement in their symptoms." © 2000 The Irish Times