|
Power
of the Gentle Touch |
by Deanne Pearson
(Reprinted from the Daily
Express-Micro Edition, April 24,2000)
Renowned for his
outspoken comments, broadcaster and former Express editor Derek
Jameson waxed lyrical about the Bowen Technique when it was first
introduced to Britain in the early Nineties.
Having suffered with a
frozen shoulder for years, he was "absolutely
flabbergasted" when just a few sessions of this gentle,
hands-on therapy resolved the problem. His wife Ellen was so
impressed she decided to train as a practitioner.
The Bowen Technique was
developed in the Fifties by a remarkable Australian called Thomas
Ambrose Bowen, who had no formal education and previously worked as
a laborer. So successful was his technique that, by the late
Seventies, he was treating 13,000 patients a year with conditions
ranging from bad backs, sports injuries and other musculo-skeletal
disorders to asthma, hay fever, migraine, infant colic, menstrual
and fertility problems.
What happens
Receiving or watching
someone have a Bowen treatment, it is difficult to understand how it
can be so effective. Practitioners use fingers and thumbs to
make light rolling movements across muscles, ligaments, tendons and
energy points (including those used in acupuncture) on the body -
the pressure being no greater than an eyeball could comfortable
withstand.
This is said to create
energy surges which prompt the body to "reprogram" and
heal itself. "These impulses send messages to the brain,
which investigates the problem and then sets about rectifying
it," says practitioner Julian Baker, who was the first to start
practicing and teaching the therapy in this country and now runs the
European College of Bowen Studies.
Patients are treated
either sitting or lying down and don't have to remove their
clothes. After each movement the therapist leaves the room for
about 10 minutes to allow the patient's body to "digest"
the information it has been given. "We see ourselves as
facilitators, not healers," says Julian. "It's the
patient's own body that does the work."
A response - and
sometimes a complete resolution of the problem - is often generated
in two or three sessions, which will always be at least a week
apart.
What it can do for
you
Sports physiotherapist
Helen Kinnear recently completed a controlled study of 200 patients
with frozen shoulder, all of whom thought they were receiving Bowen
therapy. After four sessions, half of those who had fake
treatment had an average eight degree improvement in shoulder
flexibility, while two-thirds of the real Bowen group had an average
23 degree improvement.
In another study of 20 patients with
fibromyalgia (chronic muscle pain), conducted by Dr. Joanne Whitaker
at the American College of Rheumatology, almost all reported
immediate relief lasting from a few days to months. For some,
regular treatment has prevented a recurrence.
"Bowen can produce
startlingly good results in certain circumstances," says
retired orthopedic surgeon Sandy Birnie, who is trained in the
technique. "I have seen four cases of chronic tennis
elbow completely resolved in about 10 minutes and have recently used
it to successfully treat five whiplash injuries."
Patients may often find
other ailments, such as digestive, respiratory and sleep problems
improving after Bowen treatment.
The technique is so
gentle it can be used on babies, pregnant women, the elderly and
disabled.
©
Express
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