ARTHRITIS: RHEUMATOID - JJ, 50. I developed rheumatoid arthritis twenty years ago. Ugh! It started in my hands and slowly spread through my whole body. I have tried all anti-inflammatory drugs, gold injections to no avail and I have been to chiropractors and physiotherapists/masseurs and it made me worse. I am on some nasty drugs such as steroids, methotrexate and cyclosporin. I was always stiff and sore and I seemed to hurt all the time. I have had three operations on my feet. Pins have been put in the big toes to try and straighten them followed by fusing them together to hold them up. This didn’t work and the pain was still there. I had a synovectomy on my knee with further injections. I also had surgery to my wrists as I was always in so much pain. And then I found Bowen Therapy. I have found relief and a lot of my pain has gone.
ARTHRITIS: RHEUMATOID female, 70. A 70-year-old with rheumatoid arthritis suffered excruciating hip pain. After one treatment her hip pain was better and after four treatments was only “annoying”. Her energy has improved and she is able to do more.
ARTHRITIS IN HIP - Woman, 51, series of treatments. Cath, who has an arthritic hip, says that before her experience with Bowen "I would have laughed in your face if you'd said that this could help me". She was told in September 2000 that she had osteoarthritis and that she'd have to wait for a hip replacement - a long wait on the NHS because she was comparatively young. She couldn't walk without a stick and found it difficult to lift things. She had to stop her work in a convenience store, but a customer had recommended that she try Bowen. Cath said: "It was like nothing I've ever had before. It was very relaxing and after the relaxation you get a wonderful rush of energy. I went on a Thursday and by the Friday night I was walking a bit better. By the following Thursday I didn't need to use a stick to walk - and since then I haven't looked back." Cath had weekly sessions for four weeks, reducing to monthly and then two-monthly visits. Now she goes every three months. Not only has she continued to walk without a stick but she can lift things again and she has a new part-time job working as a house manager at local retirement flats. She still plans to have a hip replacement but until then she is free of her previous pain and limitations.
ARTHRITIS, WHIPLASH & FALL - woman, 58, series of treatments. J is overweight with arthritis in both knees (for 23 years) which had spread to her neck, right foot and right hand. She had also had a whiplash injury twice and fell at work 11 years ago, pulling the ligaments from the backbone to the hips. Her job requires her to do quite a lot of lifting and carrying. After a few weeks of Bowen treatment her knees were much better. Following treatment on her hamstrings the results were amazing. She couldn’t remember when she last had that amount of flexibility in her knees. Further treatments brought the same results to other parts of her body. Headaches due to the arthritis are also gone.
OSTEOARTHRITIS - Julia. I had a bad limp and muscle pain due to severe (bone rubbing against bone) osteoarthritis in my left hip. The bone doc told me that only a hip replacement would help. My physical therapist did everything she could and then referred me for Bowen. At first I thought, “Something this gentle, this calming, this ‘alternative’ won't help much.” But, after the second visit, I noticed a lessening of the severe muscle pains in my leg, and my limp improved. I get occasional arthritic pains now, but no more muscle pains.
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS of the LUMBAR SPINE - Man, 76, ongoing treatments as needed. Diagnosis by GP - ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar spine, and confirmed by an MRI scan. G was in constant pain but refusing painkillers. He was unable to walk, without a walking stick, to his bank, which is only 5 minutes from his house, and he frequently has to sit down. His GP said the only cure for the pain was an operation that could put him in a wheelchair. Neither G nor his GP were keen on this idea. G decided to try Bowen Technique. He had previously tried osteopathy, physiotherapy and acupuncture with little or no result. He is a tall slim man who was in obvious pain. There were no obvious signs of muscle wastage. When he came for his second treatment, he was very much improved, walking without a stick and had no need to sit down on short walks. The pain was less, muscle tension almost normal, and range of movement improved. When he came for his third treatment, his movement was excellent, no pain, and very little pins and needles in feet. Since then, he has continued with a maintenance treatment once or twice monthly. He can walk around the town with no problems and no stick. He has remained pain free for a year, apart from a slight hiccup when he walked his son's very boisterous dog, but this settled after treatment. He also had right knee problems 18 months after his first Bowen treatment but this settled after two treatments one week apart. He really is thrilled with Bowen and talks about it to anyone who will listen!
