If you’ve ever experienced any type of pain, you know very well how interconnected your muscles are to your nervous system. One small movement while you’re in discomfort can sometimes send paralyzing bolts of pain up and down your body. As one who spends much too much time in front of a computer, I know what I’m talking about. Those of you who’ve experienced pregnancy really know what I’m talking about. This relationship between muscle and nerve is the core of the Bowen Technique, which was first developed by an Australian osteopath by the name of Tom Bowen in the 1960’s.

The easiest way to understand this is by using one of our most basic body movements as an example: If we want to bend our arm, we consciously bend it. However, once moved, we no longer think about keeping it bent. This is because the nerves innervating each muscle involved send a message to the brain that we have shortened some muscles and lengthened others. The brain understands these messages and resets the length of each muscle to hold that position. With a series of gentle rolling motions applied by the thumb or other fingers, a Bowen therapist such as Dr. Heidi Rootes from Vitality Clinic can ‘challenge’ a muscle without actually changing its length. Even though your muscles aren’t contracting and extending during this procedure, a ‘default’ message is still being sent to the brain, which shoots a signal back to the muscles, telling them to reset to their resting position. This relaxes a tight muscle or shortens a stretched muscle and by reseting the entire muscular system in such a way, you eventually achieve relief from pain; any kind of pain.

Since this treatment is non-invasive, and actually quite soothing, it is a perfectly safe therapy for anyone at any age. Dr. Rootes has had great success with everyone from colicky babies, to pregnant women, to the elderly. A typical session can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on the severity of your condition, and you don’t need to do anything in preparation for a treatment. As she explains in the video, targeting the real cause of the pain requires an initial re-alignment of the spine. Once the source is confirmed, Dr. Rootes applies a set of Bowen moves, then leaves the room for a few minutes to allow your body to fully integrate the stimulus received. She will then return to apply another set of moves and let you rest for another couple of minutes. This continues on for the rest of the session and in this process, your body is placed in a state of deep relaxation, during which it corrects itself as it strives towards homeostasis. What Dr. Rootes does is enable your body to heal and balance itself naturally.

Some conditions that Dr. Rootes treats include: acute and chronic pain, asthma and other respiratory conditions, sinus congestion and hay fever, high blood pressure, gynecological complaints, migraines, digestive complaints, obstetrical pain, sciatica, frozen shoulder, low back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome to name a few. Essentially any system that has muscular involvement will respond to Bowen Therapy. I’m told between 85 – 90% of people respond positively to this type of treatment and they usually see results within three to five sessions, at times even the very first, as was the case with Dr. Rootes when she was first introduced to it while pregnant and in medical school. Smokers and those with extensive scarring will likely find it less effective.

If this sounds like massage, physiotherapy or acupressure, it isn’t. You’ll find after one session that the techniques employed and the foundation it’s built upon differ from any other. If you suffer from any kind of pain, Bowen Therapy may be a gentle solution to your problem. Even though Tom Bowen developed it in the 60’s, the use of the Bowen Technique was limited to its country of origin until his death in the early 80’s. Only in recent years has it reached Canada, so be sure to seek out a properly trained and certified Bowen Therapist.

Guest Contact:

Dr. Heidi Rootes, ND, BSc
Naturopathic Physician, Acupuncturist, and Certified Bowen Therapist

Vitality Clinic
827 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 2R7

t: 604.687.7678
e: bowendoc@vitalityclinic.ca
i: www.vitalityclinic.ca