pain that has not responded well to other treatments (e.g., “frozen shoulder”), and pain in persons seeming to be extraordinarily sensitive to pain (e.g., fibromyalgia).
Bowen Therapy may be used as either a primary treatment, or supportive treatment. As a primary treatment, it typically used for chronic conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system (e.g., fibromyalgia, or recovery from injury [“frozen shoulder]”). It is used as a supportive treatment in cases where the autonomic (“unconscious”) nervous system appears to be in need of being “re-set” (e.g., constipation, heart palpitation) or for stress management (e.g., management of anxiety). The goal of treatment using Bowen Therapy is complete resolution of pain, or complete return to previous function.
Benefits Shown in Bowen Therapy Research Studies
Bowen Therapy may be of benefit, in some capacity, the treatment almost any health condition.
A study titled “The Bowen Technique: a study of it’s prevalence and effectiveness”, presented at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill found that Bowen Therapy was an effective treatment for the following:
95% for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction
88% for neck pain
85% for back pain
83% for stress and tension
80% for fibromyalgia
80% for hip pain
75% for non-specific pain conditions
Other research has demonstrated that Bowen Therapy:
Improves decreases tremor and improves sleep quality in patients having Parkinson’s disease
Reduces heart rate variability (“normalized” heart rate) and slows heart rate in 100% of fibromyalgia patients
Increased neck range of motion, and decreased “disability scores” in patients having trapezitis (neck and shoulder pain, and restricted movement) when combined with physiotherapy
Improves mobility and function; and reduced pain (on average) from a score of 7/10 to 1/10 in 100% of “frozen shoulder” patients
Reduces migraine headache frequency and/or intensity in 80% of patients
Improved symptoms of restless leg syndrome in 3 of 5 patients receiving treatment
Reduced symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in 4 of 6 patients receiving treatment, with complete resolution of symptoms in 3 of these patients
Significantly improves motor function of patients recovering from stroke
Improves sleep and a general sense of well-being
A single Bowen Therapy treatment has been demonstrated to:
Decrease feelings of depression by 51%
Decrease feelings of anxiety by 21%
Decrease fatigue by 41%
Decrease sense of tension by 62%
Decrease feelings of anger by 47%
Decrease confusion by 33%
Increase flexibility (in hamstrings) by 26-34%
