Frequently Asked Questions
How many and how often are treatments?
A Bowen Therapy treatment is 1.5 hours. Treatments are spaced a few days apart for optimal results and number or treatments varies from person to person due to many factors. Many conditions are effectively – and lastingly – changed in fewer than 3-5 sessions, although some conditions may take longer. Musculoskeletal symptoms generally change the fastest, neurological symptoms the slowest. Many people choose to have monthly or quarterly maintenance sessions or “tune ups” once their initial complaints are addressed.
What is the procedure?
A Bowen treatment consists of sequences of small light-touch moves that cross-fibres muscles, tendons and ligaments, performed on the body on the skin or through lightweight clothing.
After each set of moves, a 2-5 minute pause is needed where the practitioner leaves the room to allow your body time to realign and rectify itself before commencing onto the next sequence of moves.
I ask that you please wear or bring comfortable clothing ie. tshirt, shorts or yoga pants for your session.A t-shirt is provided if needed.
Also session may include any of the following Sonic Therapy, Cold Laser Therapy, Microcurrent, Sound Healing. Exceptions for clients that have a pacemaker and pregnancy.
Why does my Bowen Therapist keep leaving the room?
Just like the vibrations that are initiated by strumming the strings of a guitar, your muscular structures vibrate amongst themselves during a Bowen treatment. Once a specific group of muscles and tendons begin their vibrational patterns, they must not be disturbed for a specific time period, usually two to five minutes. Your therapist will leave the room to allow for the maximum effect to take place, as your brain begins the important feedback loop between the nerve receptors and the targeted areas of your brain.
How will I feel after my treatment; are there any side effects?
Results vary greatly depending on the patient. Most patients feel completely relaxed and energized following their treatment. Some feel an increase in pain, although it usually doesn’t last long, and some feel an immediate decrease. The effects of Bowen take about a week to cascade throughout your body’s intricate physiological structures. Follow your practitioner’s instructions to the best of your ability.
Why am I told to walk and drink water?
Lymphatic fluid, or “lymph” is circulated through your lymph nodes, and is your body’s main resource for healing. Lymph carries valuable supplies throughout your entire body, and removes toxins and waste products for natural elimination. While your blood is distributed by the pumping of your heart, your lymphatic system does not have a pump of its own. It relies on simple movement and water consumption to keep it moving. The majority of your lymph nodes are conveniently located in areas that are stimulated by natural movement such as walking and swimming. As such, these are ideal forms of exercise for the week following your Bowen treatment.
Is Bowen Therapy covered by OHIP or Private Health Insurance?
At this time in our clinic this service is not covered by OHIP or extended private health insurance programs.
Client: PAIN-FREE Decades After Severe Car Accident!
It is not unusual these days for friends and acquaintances who have not seen me for several years to not immediately recognize me. The obvious weight loss is immediately noticeable and prompts people to ask what I have been doing. While the weight loss is a factor, however, what is amazing to them (and to me, as well) is that over the past several years I have reclaimed my life in many other ways.
A serious highway traffic accident in 1979 left me with major injuries to my neck, both legs, and one foot. In the subsequent years, follow-up surgeries, physiotherapy, chiropractic adjustments and other treatments were able to help me regain some measure of mobility. However, as the years went by, significant leg-length discrepancies resulting from the accident and other misalignments from knee and foot injuries, began to impact more and more severely on my mobility. Chronic pain meant that for years I did not know what it was to move without significant discomfort. Some mornings, my feet and legs hurt so much, it was almost impossible to get from the bed to the bathroom. Back pain, accompanied by hip, knee, leg and foot pain, became a constant companion. Walking even short distances was very difficult, even on the best of days. As my mobility lessened, my weight increased, compounding an already-serious health issue. While my weight had been a factor from childhood, the constant pain and the decreasing mobility contributed to my weight skyrocketing to an all-time high.
When I first heard of Bowen Therapy through the medical clinic I use, I was at a point where I was resigned to living with constant pain. While I had never really verbalized the thought, my fear was that before too long, walking would become so difficult, that I would begin to need to use a wheelchair. Not a pleasant thought! I decided to try Bowen (I had already tried everything else, it seemed) and that decision has led me to where I am today - healthier, happier and, for the first time in many years, free of pain.
Because there is no Bowen practitioner in my community, I had to avail of treatments twice yearly, when Sharon Walsh visited for several weeks. After my first series of five or six treatments, I could already feel a difference. The neuro-muscular-skeletal realignment which Bowen promised seemed to have begun. I was slowly able to begin walking again, starting with ten minutes and increasing slowly. Over the next two years, with a twice-yearly series of five or six treatments, I could feel my body realign itself.
For the first time in about 25 years, my body felt as though both sides were balanced. Movement became easier and the pain, which had been my constant companion forever, it seemed, slowly disappeared, as did the weight. Over a two-year period, I lost more than 100 lb. and gained more mobility than I had ever thought possible. The 10-minute walks slowly increased to where I could undertake two or three hour hikes. The pain in my back, hips, knees, legs and foot went away. Only someone who has lived with chronic pain and knows what it is like to experience pain with every step can really understand the life-altering magnitude of such a change. My life was back!
Four series of treatments over a two-year period brought me to a point where only rarely do I feel any pain at all. Stiffness and discomfort indicate that it is time for a “tune-up”, as I like to call it, in the form of two or three Bowen sessions. These days, I no longer have to search for a close parking spot or queue for the elevator; in fact, my new-found mobility has encouraged other work colleagues to begin taking the stairs in our office building. I would never have thought it possible, but at the age of 51, for the first time ever, I joined a friend for a walk to and from Signal Hill – one of the steepest walks I have ever undertaken. Since that time, I have walked not only that particular trail, but many others besides. For me, there certainly is life after 50 – and Bowen has been a very big part of that.
Marie-Louise Greene
St. John's, Newfoundland
July 20th, 2008
What other Professionals are saying about Bowen Therapy.
Bowen Therapy is not meant to replace medical treatment. However, due to its success, more and more members of the medical profession continue to be amazed at its effectiveness and have begun to add Bowen Therapy to their practice or refer their patients to a professional Bowen Therapist.
What Physicians, Health Professionals and others say:
This is a client letter written to Dr. Andrew Weil reporting benefits of receiving Bowen treatments.
Andrew Weil MD
P.O.Box 868 Vail, Az. 85641
The following letter is to tell you about my most positive experience with the Bowen Technique. I am a terrible skeptic and recently became critically ill with an exceedingly bad multiple sclerosis exacerbation. I was in significant muscle pain with reoccurring muscle spasms. A Bowen practitioner came and visited me in the hospital and did a session on me. I was so ill and in pain at the time, I thought I’ll try anything. After just a few minutes (after the session) - no more than 2 -3, - the pain I had been heavily medicated for completely disappeared and never returned. At first, I couldn’t walk or really move my left side much - but since 3 visits total - I can walk - unsteadily, without a walker for short distances.
I am astounded something so simple and painless works - but it clearly does.
Regards Charlotte Brown, Ph.d. San Francisco
- Dr. Joseph Mercola, Director, Optimal Wellness Center, Chicago, Illinois, -"This work, done properly, will take care of 85% of most all pain problems. It is absolutely amazing."
- Dr. Christine Staub - "As a board-certified family physician with a special interest in the treatment of chronic illness and pain syndromes, I am thrilled to have Bowen Therapy as a resource for myself, family, friends and patients."
-Lou Hassik, Naturopath - "The Bowen Technique has made my previous approach to human health care redundant. I now consider Bowen to be the most important health care discovery in human history."
- Dr. JoAnne Whitaker, M.D. - "I was facing a hip replacement and back surgery when I discovered the Bowen Technique. After receiving Bowen treatments, not only was I able to walk, but I went back to playing golf... without surgery. I was so impressed that I flew to Australia to train in the Bowen Technique and now treat patients with ailments ranging from bunions to heart disease. I believe that Bowen Therapy is the single, most important hands-on healing technique in medicine."
- Brenda Williams, Director of the Quiet Miracles Program in North Carolina chose the Bowen Technique as the sole hands-on component of her hospital's pain management unit.
- Russell Dick, Osteopath - "There are things in life which pass in front of you that must be grabbed with both hands. Bowen has turned my practice on its head, with 80% of my patients being given Bowen as first choice."
- Dr. Ted Sleigh - "Of all the modalities I have used, Bowen Therapy has helped so many of my patients that I would never want to give it up."
- Audrey Butko M.D. - "I consider the Bowen Technique to be a blessing in my practice because of its simplicity, results and patient satisfaction. It has nearly eliminated my need to use cortisone injections."
- Mitchell R. Mosher, DPM - "The Bowen Technique is one of the most powerful physical medicine techniques I have learned in 24 years as a podiatrist. I routinely use the Bowen Technique to complement treatment of various foot and ankle injuries."
- Gerry Townsend, M.D. - "I offer the Bowen Technique to acute and chronic patients who have not responded to traditional treatment for myofascial pain syndrome, back pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis or fractures. Although skeptical at first, C.S. Whitman, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, now regularly refers patients to Dr. Townsend's program."
- Dr. Frederick Menier - "I have been able to notice results even in chronic situations such as rheumatism, TMJ, chronic asthma and emotional depression. An added bonus to this wonderful work is that it is very soft and gentle and well appreciated by my patients for this and its deep relaxing benefits."
- Dr. Michael Buckmann - "As the success with Bowen is in most cases so astonishing, people seeking an explanation as to what it is prior to receiving treatment often think you are some incredible charlatan making wild claims when you give an explanation. But it is true. Clients who present with both acute and chronic pain, having often sought in vain treatment from a variety of other experts and specialists, are consistently free of their problems within a very short time by using Bowen.In fact, most clients require only 2 or 3 sessions to achieve long term benefits."
- Laurie Anderson, artist - “I’m so grateful to have a treatment that addresses the mind as well as the body. Immediately, I experienced enormous relief from low back pain."
- J. T., M.D., Physician, Medical Researcher, Biotechnology Company
- “I have noted improvement in stress-related muscle pain and tension, joint pain and posture. Bowen Therapy sessions may benefit people with musculo-skeletal pain as well as other stress related symptoms. Much to my surprise, my neck pain got resolved through this work. I am very pleased with the results and quite amazed!”
- L. White. MD - Physician, former Professor of Cardiology - “This body work has been enormously beneficial in allowing me to feel freer, less constricted, more mobile, better aligned, with a greater sense of space in my movements. I highly recommend Bowen Therapy.”
- Dr Robert Flemming MD - “After over 30 years of medical practice, I am finding the Bowen Technique the most effective and efficient hands-on procedure I’ve ever studied. I fully recommend this technique to all health practitioners.”
- Oscar C. Weitzberg, Rockville, MD - "Two chronic problems cleared up after a few Bowen sessions three months ago. As far back as I can remember, I tended toward constipation. After eighty-five years of laxatives, enemas, and suppositories, I’m now regular — even without Metamucil. My sinus condition began in the early 1950s. After the doctor’s initial treatments with iodine, I irrigated my sinuses with saline solution for about ten years, then used Neosynephrine for thirty years, and finally used Nasacor daily for ten years. Since the Bowen, my sinuses are clear without any medication."
- Nadine Kachur, L.Ac., Licensed Acupuncturist - “Excellent work! Two Bowen Sessions and my knees were free of strain.”
- Tisha Douthwaite, L.Ac., Licensed Acupuncturist - “My sacrum has felt unstable causing sciatic pain off and on for years. After two Bowen sessions, my pelvis is no longer jammed; even after doing the things that usually caused pain, it did not destabilize. I’ve also released a lot of emotional holding.”
- Carol Henri Marketing, IBM - “After just one Bowen session, my intense low lack pain is gone and has not returned.”
- Malcolm Stemp Osteopath & Homoeopath for 40 years and also a past lecturer in osteopathy at Oxford University “A great truth. It answers all the laws of natural medicine, namely, that the body be treated as a whole without reference to named disease.”
Bowen Therapy Research Studies
ASTHMA RESEARCH STUDY
Nikke Ariff is a Bowen therapist who, between 2002 and 2004 carried out a research program to test the efficacy of the Bowen Technique with Asthma sufferers. The research was carried out over a twelve month period. The majority of participants had been suffering from Asthma over 5 years, most for over 15 years. The results were very positive. Eighty-three percent of the participants reported a reduction in the frequency of their asthma attacks and 75% of the participants reported using less medication than before the Bowen Research project. Of the 24 Volunteers who completed the program, 22 reported that secondary health concerns had also improved, including back, neck and shoulder problems; knee and joint problems; headaches and migraines; hay fever; irritable bowel syndrome and digestion; circulation; insomnia; anxiety, stress, depression and energy level improvement.
BLEPHAROSPASM
Joanne Figov, RN and Bowen Therapist, conducted a pilot study on a small section of patients diagnosed with a form of Dystonia called Blepharospasm, a neurological condition characterized by involuntary muscular eyelid spasms causing forceful contraction of the eyes. The results thus far have been very encouraging. Out of eight patients, one recovered completely after four treatments and all the rest experienced relief for a couple of days following each treatment.
BLOOD CHEMISTRY
Jo Anne Whitaker, M.D , using darkfield, phase and fluorescent microscopic live cell analysis, has shown blood chemistry changes following treatment. These changes corroborate the reports by certain patients, of experiencing transient flu-like symptoms, due to detox reactions lasting up to 5 days following a session.
AN EXAMINATION OF THE BOWEN BUNION TREATMENT (1999). By Lambeth, B
4 clients with bilateral bunions were treated with Epsom Salts/Iodex. No Bowen moves made. Bunions measured at 1,2 and 3 month intervals. Bunion size reduced for all clients from 5mm to 15mm.
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME by Sheedy, G., (2000)
6 clients with carpal tunnel syndrome (3 had had surgery but still had symptoms) were given 3-4 treatments. 1 client withdrew 5 remaining clients improved or resolved.
CEREBRAL PALSY
Ongoing research by Howard Plummer in Wales has produced encouraging results. Initial outcomes include increased vocalization, calmer behavior, improved concentration and comprehension and improved head control and improved balance.
EFFECTS OF THE BOWEN TECHNIQUE ON THE AUTONOMOUS NERVOUS SYSTEM AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY
By measuring changes in the value and pattern in heart rate variability before and after a Bowen treatment, this study by Jo Anne Whitaker, M.D., demonstrated that the Bowen Technique affects the autonomic nervous system (ANS). By using Heart Rate Variability to study the autonomic nervous system, early findings demonstrated that Bowen treatments balanced the ANS. The control group consisted of subjects with all types of rheumatological conditions.
EXERCISE AND SPORTS SCIENCE
A study at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill compared practitioner and patient responses on the efficacy of the Bowen Therapy in treating pain.
Practitioners rated its effectiveness as
85% for back pain
88% for neck pain
83% for stress and tension
80% for fibromyalgia
Patients rated the Bowen Therapy:
85% for back pain
80% for stress and tension
95% for TMJ
80% for hip pain
75% for other conditions
FIBROMYALGIA
A pilot study on the effect of Bowen treatments on fibromyalgia sufferers was carried out by Tim Willcocks (Bowen Practitioner and Trainer). Four participants (aged 39-52) who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia from 3 to 5 years, were given four Bowen treatments over a five week period. All four participants experienced improvement, including better sleep, ease in walking, cessation of vertigo, eased neck pain, improved balance and less exhaustion.
FIBROMYALGIA
In a study of twenty patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia conducted by Jo Anne Whitaker, M.D., at the American College of Rheumatology, almost all participants experienced various degrees of relief which lasted from a few days to several weeks. Most reported immediate relief following a Bowen treatment. For some, repeated Bowen therapy maintained complete clinical remission. The results were statistically significant and correlated with improvement of clinical well-being.
FROZEN SHOULDER
Recently published study from England on Frozen shoulders by Dr. Bernie Carter and Rick Minnery & Bran Clarke as the Bowen Therapists at the Metropolitan University of Manchester ( UK). This study involved 20 participants diagnosed with frozen shoulder and treated by the Bowen Technique. Participants claimed a high level of satisfaction with the therapy, a commitment to using Bowen in the future in case of relapse or for another condition and the intention to recommend the therapy to friends and family. 70% of participants regained full mobility (equal to the non affected side) by the end of the treatment. The other participants showed significant improvement in shoulder mobility and associated function. Some still reported some mild ache but none reported any invasive and intense pain they experienced before receiving Bowen. Even if the outcome of this small study doesn't show 100% success, it showed that Bowen was a very effective treatment even with people who had a long standing condition with only 3 to 6 visits. This is a good outcome as other studies done on long standing frozen shoulders showed poorer results. From these 20 participants, 6 received 5 treatments, 6 received 4 and 8 received 3 treatments before being discharged from the study.
FROZEN SHOULDER
Julian Baker and Helen Kinnear of the European College of Bowen Studies (UK) investigated the effect of the Bowen Technique on patients with long-term shoulder pain and stiffness. Results indicated that Bowen significantly improved shoulder function through increasing range of motion and reducing pain.
FROZEN SHOULDER / PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS / JOB-RELATED STRESS
Early evidence suggests possible benefits in the treatment of frozen shoulder, psychiatric disorders and job-related stress.
LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE
Eilish Lund, is a lymphoedema nurse who practices in North Wales. She decided to try Bowen out on as many patients as she could, starting with those with primary Lymphoedema and lymphovenous oedema. She found that most patients felt better, moved more freely and after an initial feeling of great tiredness, began to feel better.
MATERNITY RESEARCH
Midwife and Bowen Therapist Rick Minnery has begun a long-term study on the effectiveness of the Bowen Technique with maternity patients including using Bowen.
- The Bowen Technique as an aid to relaxation and reduction of the experience of pain in labor and the reduction of time of labor
- Pre-natal morning sickness, heartburn, breast discomfort, symphyseal pain, lower back pain during pregnancy
- Post-natal problems such as perineal trauma and particularly breast problems (engorgement, lactation, milk or venous engorgement, mastitis, poor or excessive milk production).
MIGRAINE RESEARCH STUDY
London-based Bowen Technique practitioner Nikke Ariff completed the Bowen Technique Migraine Research Program which studied the efficacy of the Bowen Technique in treating migraine headaches. The 39 migraine volunteers consisted of 37 women and 2 men. Thirteen of them had been suffering from migraines for 1-15 years; seventeen of them had been having migraines for 16-30 years; and nine had had migraines for over 30 years. In all, 31 participants experienced a positive result, representing 79.5% of participants. At the end of the program, 36 of the 39 said they would recommend Bowen as a treatment to a friend or colleague.
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Ashley Pritchard, at the Swinburn University department of Psychophysiology, Melbourne, showed that the Bowen Therapy consistently reduced subject’s level of anxiety, and enhanced individuals positive feelings by reducing tension, anger, depression, fatigue and confusion. Objective measures of decrease in Heart Rate Variability and muscle tension correlate with subjective feelings of relaxation.
RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME
5 subjects, 2 groups, 1 group received Bowen Therapy 1 control group. Subjects kept a daily diary relating to frequency, severity and duration of symptoms. The treatment group showed reduction in symptoms while there was no change in the control group.
TMJ
A research project on TMJ abnormality was conducted by Dr. John Bauman, DDS Assessment of masseter tension by Bio Feedback, measurement of bite and subjective symptoms were compared before and after treatment. Immediately after the first treatment one third of patients felt dramatic relief in some of their symptoms and 20 out of the 22 patients showed significant improvement on the post Bio Feedback assessment.
ONGOING BOWEN RESEARCH
- effects on Chronic Pain
- effects on Fibromyalgia
- effects on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- effects on Tic Douloureux and TMJ Disorder
- effects on cardiac dysrythmias and brain wave activity
- effects on various adrenocorticotropic hormones and neurotransmitters.