Pain Relief with Bowen Therapy

Pain takes two forms, sudden and sharp as a result of an injury, or as an ache. The latter ranging from continuous pain with varying degrees of severity to intermittent pain whose onset, depth and persistence depends upon many factors.

Pain is the bodies’ early warning system and is a way of avoiding more serious injury unless the brain commands otherwise. (An example of pain over-ride is that despite an injury the body will be put into fight or flight mode so as to avoid a perceived fatal outcome).

Pain relief comes about through the body’s self-healing mechanism aided or not by medical treatment, the time factor depending upon the type and severity of the injury.

Bowen Therapy has been found to alleviate injury pain. Bowen therapists have a saying….”The sooner the treatment the better”., and one example of this is in a hamstring injury where a player can be treated on the field to enable them to be up and running.

One of the Bowen body-balancing moves is also used for the treatment of shock after an accident.

Bowen Therapy comes into its own where a long-standing problem needs to be addressed. These are manifest as an ache or pain, accompanied with restricted neck, back or limb movement.

Persistent pain and its cause.

Our muscles, which comprise two thirds of our body, are the engines that drive and control us. They take in fuel (nutrients), burn it up and emit waste products. They need to be in complete balance and harmony within the system. They achieve this in two ways, one, by an automatic feed back system of which generally we are unaware, and two, by a deliberate control system that we use to achieve a desired end. An injury will damage one or several muscles, these will become tense and rigid. (Medically, a muscle is spastic, hypertonus, or in hypertonic spasm, one form of which is known as cramp).

The result of a hypertonic muscle.

An over worked muscle in becoming tense restricts the blood supply, the resultant lack of oxygen causes a chemical reaction so that its ‘fuel’ cannot be metabolised, resulting in a build-up of lactic acid. The muscle spasm affects the nerve feedback system to the brain, which misinterprets the weak signal as a request for more tension within the muscle. Bingo! More tension, more lactic acid and eventually cramp with locked-in lactic acid. (A more detailed description can be obtained by consulting a neuro-surgeon.)

The hypertonic muscle pulls the skeletal system towards it, affecting body balance and placing stress on other muscles. The other effect is the restriction of the nerves going into and through the muscle. The latter send confusing signals to the brain about areas apparently unconnected with the original injury, (referred pain).

Result? A distressed person with unrelieved discomfort, restricted movement with all the ills that lack of exercise induce, lowered immune system, stress due to having to go out to earn a living, the ladies additionally having to handle the home, the children, and her husband.

©Roy Wilson - An Alternative Therapists Handbook.

The information shown is not intended as a substitute to medical advice from a GP or any other medical practitioner.