BACK, NECK & LEG PAIN
Therapist Alice O’Brien, who practices several different therapies, wrote the following to her Bowen instructor:
“I have to tell you of some brilliant results. I gave a reflexology treatment to a lady who had very sore feet. She also suffered with a sore back, neck and leg and after many reflexology sessions, / eventually persuaded her to try Bowen. Two Bowen treatments later she only had sore feet. After the third treatment she still had sore feet so in frustration / made a Bowen move posteriorly over the metatarsal arch, a similar move on the lung/breast area and another posterior move on the arch of the feet (on the thoracic area). The lady in question had 3 awful days after this treatment but stuck it out and then had the best week of her feet’s life. ”
PROJECTILE VOMITING
little girl, aged six weeks 1 treatment
K. was vomiting after every meal and was not absorbing her food. She had been thoroughly checked by the paediatrician and nothing was found to be wrong.
She seemed to be a rather agitated little baby and her mother was anxious and worried. Immediately after the Bowen treatment, K. became much less agitated and began to stretch.
She then fell asleep. Her mother rang the therapist the next day to say that she had fed K. for the first time without having her vomit afterwards and she seemed more settled. Since then she has had no recurrence of the problem.
COLIC
little boy, aged 4 months 1 treatment
J. was four months old and suffering from severe colic after meals which was distressing for him and for his poor parents. During the Bowen treatment he seemed to relax completely. After this one treatment he had no further colic.
EXTREME PAIN – SHOULDER & ARM
girl, aged 17 4 treatments
S.’s GP diagnosed a suspected trapped nerve. An area around her right scapula was raised, appearing to be in spasm. After the first treatment, she experienced extreme pain.
However, within 2 days that had subsided. After the second treatment she reported no apparent pain or problem but just a slight stiffness. After the third treatment the stiffness had gone and pain free state was holding.
LOWER BACK PAIN, HIPS & RIGHT KNEE
woman, aged 26 3 treatments
F. is a very tall (6’2″) nursery nurse, so works with tiny people and furniture all day. She had had this problem for 2 – 3 years.
MRI scans had not revealed any cause for the pains and physiotherapy treatment had been to no avail. After the second Bowen treatment she said “it is 99% better than it was”.
After three treatments, the problems were completely gone and the resolution holding. She now chooses to return for a treatment several times a year as a ‘general tune-up and de-stressing’. One session leaves her feeling restored.
PROLAPSED DISC & TENNIS ELBOW
man, aged 36 9 treatments
M had a 3-year-old prolapsed disc injury for which he had received 2 epidurals. He also had a severe tennis elbow of 2 years duration. As a building foreman, the severity of these problems was making him give serious consideration to changing his employment.
The prolapsed disc caused him to walk with a pronounced limp and have a tingling/numbness in his thigh and calf. After the first treatment his leg and back had been better with only one bad day – a distinct improvement.
After the second treatment, the leg numbness was much improved but the elbow pain had increased and he was reluctant to have it touched again. After the third treatment, his leg problem flared up again and his elbow was much the same with no great improvement.
After the fourth treatment, however, he reported a slight to good improvement and he found the exercises he had been given were easier. After the seventh treatment his elbow was getting much better and the exercises were no problem.
His leg was still giving a background pain. After the eighth treatment both elbow and leg were ‘much better’. At this point the therapist lengthened time between treatments to 2 weeks instead of one week.
M. said that both his elbow and leg were better at this stage than they had been for 3 years. He was more than happy with the improvement and felt it would enable him to carry on in his chosen profession.
OLD ROWING INJURY, PAIN UNDER LEFT SCAPULA
man, aged 38 3 treatments
F.’s muscle on his back was very jumpy and painful during the first treatment. When he came for his second treatment, the back pain and jumpiness were reduced by about 50%.
However, after the treatment, he experienced quite severe discomfort in his knees and buttocks and felt as if he had a mild flu. On the 3rd visit, he felt much better in himself and reported a noted posture change.
During treatment, his back was now like a normal back, not jumpy, and pain free. He then went on holiday and has not needed further treatments.
SCIATICA
man, aged 40 1 treatment
P. was unable to put weight on his right foot and the therapist paid a home visit. He was in severe pain and had been all day, from the buttock right down the leg.
He was extremely tense and tight. The therapist gave him one treatment of the basic moves and was able to observe his body relaxing during the 40 minutes of the treatment.
He was virtually pain free when he got up and was walking normally. Two years later, the therapist reports that the problem has not returned.
KNEE AND UPPER BACK PROBLEMS
woman, aged 42 4 treatments
C. is a practising masseuse who stands for long periods and develops a lot of tension in her back. Her upper back and shoulders were very tight.
Also both knees and ankles were giving her trouble. After the first treatment her back loosened. Her knees and ankles were improving after the second treatment.
After the first couple of treatments C. told the therapist that she had also been suffering from heavy and painful periods since the birth of her daughter nearly 10 years earlier. The therapist therefore gave her a procedure to address this and C. reported a tremendous change with reduction of the pain and heaviness.
NECK/SHOULDER INJURY
woman, aged 43 3treatments
“I recently had the Bowen treatment for a stubborn and painful neck/shoulder injury, which I have suffered from for over three years.
Although I was very sceptical at first – after all, how could so small and gentle a movement make such a difference, when all other treatments I had tried via my GI’s recommendations had only eased the symptoms fora short time.
I was amazed at the incredible results, even after only the first proper treatment on my neck and shoulders.”
GOLFER’S ELBOW, FROZEN
SHOULDER & MIGRAINE
woman, aged 48 4 treatments
M. was suffering from neck pains, migraines (up to two a week) and ‘creaky knees’.
A former frozen shoulder had recently developed into a ‘golfer’s elbow’ and she had been referred on by a reflexologist. During the first treatment she felt that her neck kept ‘extending’ and her elbow started to free up.
After four sessions her energy level was good, the shoulder was no problem, the migraines had stopped and the knees were better. Still a little soreness in the elbow, but a year later she is ‘feeling fine’.
EMOTIONAL STRESS
woman, aged 57 3 treatments
A series of family bereavements and problems over some years had completely drained A of any energy although she is normally an active and energetic person. She was feeling a tight chest, a tight ‘band’ around her head and her knees and legs hurt. After one Bowen treatment she felt slightly better. All symptoms showed definite signs of improvement after two and after the third treatment she was well on the way to getting back to her original self -including gardening and playing tennis within two months.
FROZEN SHOULDER
man, aged 60+ 2 treatments
N. paid two visits to his doctor for a frozen shoulder and received an injection which seemed to do nothing at all.
After the first Bowen treatment there was an improvement and the trouble cleared up after the second visit. A friend of N.’s had suffered from the same trouble for at least one year with little hope of improvement.
The friend’s frozen shoulder was relieved by the Bowen therapist during a treatment given during a visit to the Over-60 Club.
RIGHT SIDE PAIN, BACK PAIN, ASTHMA & WITHERED SHOULDER
woman, aged 62 4 treatments
After her first treatment, M. experienced a surge of energy lasting though the week and far less tension in her right calf, which had been virtually in spasm since an accident 9 years previously.
She described her calf as ‘melting’. After the second treatment she said, ‘I cannot believe the difference in my back, almost 100% already’. Knee & hip pain were much lessened, and she was generally feeling much better in herself.
She had cut back her asthma prevention medication. After the third treatment, she reported that the back pain she had had for 9 years (and had expected to always have) was now alleviated. She said she had no wheezing that week. After the fourth treatment she experienced one sore back day which cleared up by itself.
INJURY AFTER FALL
woman, aged 80 5 treatments
When she was 73 years old, B. was on a ladder, which broke under her, giving her a bad fall and a piece of it went through her left leg.
Her doctor had to attach a steel plate to the leg with thick screws. When B. first went for Bowen treatment, her left knee was solid, swollen, red and hot. After the first treatment the swelling had gone down noticeably, the skin colour was normal and she could see her ankles.
Two weeks later, she arrived for a second treatment with some swelling and redness which had returned, but was not as severe as it had been. From then on the improvement was steady and without relapse. After five treatments, the leg was very much better and she could wear normal shoes and sandals again.
HEAD AND NECK RESTRICTION
woman, aged 92 5 treatments
S. had very restricted head and neck movement and little flexion in one hand. This combination of problems was preventing her from playing the piano.
With Bowen treatments, her neck steadily improved until it was ‘wonderful’ within three treatments. The hand, especially the thumb, was also ‘wonderful’ after two more. At the age of 92 her piano playing is again a joy to hear.
CHARCOT-MARIE-TOOTH DISEASE
Woman, mid-40’s
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is an inherited, degenerative peripheral nerve disorder that causes muscle weakness and atrophy in the feet, legs, hands, and forearms. It is characterized by progressive loss of use and sensation in the limbs.
R., who inherited this condition from her father, received 6 Bowen treatments over a period of nearly two months. After the first treatment (26 July 2002), she had an excellent response: the pains in her knees were gone-, her legs felt stronger; her balance was much more reliable; she did not have to concentrate on lifting her legs when walking and the day after the treatment she felt very energised and continued feeling very well.
After the second treatment (1 August), she went abroad on a week-long family holiday. Upon her return, she reported having a wonderful time as her energy levels and stamina had remained quite good throughout the trip. She had done a great deal of walking and had, for the most part, kept up a normal pace and she was still enjoying not having to really concentrate on lifting her legs.
Her foot was not dropping as often at all and she was able to walk barefoot on the carpeted hotel floors without tripping – something she had not done in ages. Her husband noted that she was walking better. She had only tripped and fallen once, on the last day of the holiday resulting in a painful and swollen left ankle, which cleared up on its own after a few days.
After her third treatment (15 August), she continued to feel strong and well for approximately two weeks. Then her legs began to ache and feel somewhat weak again and she was tripping a bit more (reported at her fourth treatment, 5 September).
At her fifth treatment (19 September) her legs were still aching and she was having to concentrate more on walking again. She could still walk barefoot without tripping and her balance was ‘sort of OK’ – not as bad as it had been before she came for Bowen. At her sixth treatment (27 September), she said her balance wasn’t brilliant and her left leg, especially, was aching but she was still able to walk barefoot and her stamina was holding.
After experiencing such a remarkable difference at the beginning of Bowen treatments, R. and her therapist are disappointed that many of the improvements have not held.
However, they are both keen to continue to explore the effect of Bowen on this condition, as there is no doubt that R. responded very positively to the initial treatments and the fact that they held during an appreciable amount of time and activity is significant. She will return for more Bowen after several months (end of November), as they experiment with the effect of different gaps of time between treatments.