what`s going on in a Bowen Therapy treatment

In recent weeks, I’ve had some curious new clients. What’s going on in a Bowen Therapy treatment ? And why am I doing moves in the locations that I do, because that’s not where i hurt ?

Tom Bowen’s simple explanation to anyone who asked what their problem was apparently said “you had a pinched nerve”.

In this article, I’m going to simplify what’s going on and the basic principles behind Bowen Therapy.

Bowen Therapy is a unique system of body work that combines osteopathic principles, chiropractic theory and acupoint sites, delivered through the body’s soft tissue.

The outcome is structural integrity of the musculoskeletal system, resulting in optimum function of the body’s Central Nervous System.

Let’s dig a little deeper into this definition…

The underlying principles of Osteopathy are well documented:
– The human body functions as an integrated, interrelated, whole unit.
– Structure and function share a reciprocal relationship.
– There exists in the human body an innate capacity for self-regulation and healing.
– Therapeutic intervention is based upon an understanding of these three points.

The basic assumptions behind Chiropractic includes the belief that the body can heal itself and that the brain controls body functions through the nervous system. The belief is that spinal malfunction has direct impact on the nervous system, and thus on the body’s general health. A chiropractor will generally manipulate joints to restore nervous system function (whereas Bowen Therapists work on muscles moving bone).

In simplistic terms, your body is smart and is capable of healing itself given the right conditions.

Treatments aim to restore structure to the spine, to enable the body as a whole to function smoothly – and that smooth running has a lot to do with the central nervous system being happy.

The body’s central nervous system controls and coordinates all of the organs and structures in the human body.

It transmits signals from the brain, via the spine, to various parts of the body. It coordinates all voluntary actions (e.g. walking, picking up a cup) and involuntary actions (e.g. breathing, digestion).

When the body is balanced, the nervous system can make the body work really well. The nerves from the spine can flow unimpeded. Muscles work as they should and don’t hurt. The body’s organs function nicely.

If there’s irritation to the nervous system, this will result in increased tension in muscles on one side of the spine. The body then sets up compensatory patterns to try to offset that irritation, resulting in pain and dysfunction in other parts of the body – these are the symptoms that you feel.

It’s common to find that your symptom or “painful spot” is on the opposite side of the body from the spinal restriction. It’s also common to experience a problem at the other end of the body from the spinal restriction. For example, a restriction on the right side of the neck or jaw could result in inflammation of the right hip, right knee, left shoulder or left lower back.

Thus, Tom Bowen’s simplistic “pinched nerve” explanation makes a whole lot of sense if you think about it as a restriction in the nervous system.

My primary goal in any treatment session is to remove those restriction patterns in your body, to restore structural integrity to the spine and supporting structures. This allows the central nervous system to function more optimally, so the body doesn’t require those compensatory patterns that cause symptoms and discomfort.

Key restrictions in the spine will show through a ”short leg”, caused by that irritation in the nervous system. How that changes with certain movements, as well as tension I feel in particular muscles, tells more about where along the spine that restriction is likely to be. It also tells me when I’ve released that restriction.

Gentle rolling moves begin to relax the body, in preparation for some firmer moves to clear those restrictions. The body needs time to integrate those firmer moves, reflected in pauses during treatment. Next layers of restriction show where there body needs further work during a session, through more assessments and feeling for tension.

Treatment for the session is complete when the body feels even and balanced, through touch and assessment. The central nervous system and body then needs time to integrate the change over the next days, before it reveals the next restriction it wants work on in the next session.

It may feel strange to have someone working on other parts of the body, moves that’s not where it hurts.

But, let’s face it… most people who try Bowen Therapy have been trying other modalities that have only treated symptoms – and have not felt resolution.

If treatment for shoulder pain has focussed only the shoulder and the pain is not resolved, then the key problem is not in the shoulder !