Neurostrucural Integration Technique or Bowen Therapy is an excellent pain relief therapy which involves the usage of thumbs and fingers to gently move the muscles and tissues of the affected area.
There is a small break taken by the practitioner in between each set of moves.
Bowen technique is neither a massage or chiropractic manipulations where the adjustments and force are used for pain relief nor is it a therapy like acupressure.
Australian osteopath Thomas Ambrose Bowen is a founder of the Bowen technique. He invented this technique mainly to reduce the pain of the body parts without taking any external supplements or medicines for pain.
Here in this article:
History of Bowen Therapy
Bowen therapy was invented in the early period of the 1950s by the famous Australian Osteopath Thomas Ambrose Bowen.
He observed certain unusual complaints regularly among the people mainly with the musculoskeletal system like muscular dysfunction, etc.
After many years of clinical studies and observational research Bowen ultimately formulated a therapeutic technique which he named initially as neuro structural integration technique.
This was later called and made popular after his name i.e. Bowen Therapy Technique.
Bowen started his career as a common man but after developing this remarkable stimulation methodology he started working on it with the junior football clubs in Victoria. He worked as a massage therapist and applied his technique (for various musculoskeletal pathological conditions) for getting excellent pain-relieving results whenever required.
The basic technique in Bowen therapy is myofascial stimulation which interestingly corrects the unusual patterns in the neuromuscular as well as musculoskeletal systems leading to proper muscular alignment and functions.
Bowen describes his technique as soft tissue therapy where the main objective is to stimulate the soft tissue receptors and thereby reducing the pain, stiffness, and misalignment.
Why Bowen Therapy Got Famous?
The Bowen therapy became popular when the technique helped the individuals by curing their major problems like sports injuries, accidental injuries, frozen shoulders, whiplash injuries, tension injuries of neck and back, stress disorders, musculoskeletal imbalance, stroke, paralysis, bed wetting, menstrual disorders, digestive disturbances, respiratory troubles (mainly asthmatic attacks), acute as well as chronic fatigue disorders, hormonal imbalances, and its disorders, colic pain, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.
Sources reveal that before the death of Bowen, more than 13,000 people were benefited by this technique. When compared with other medical treatment methodologies the Bowen therapy provided miraculous results.
Although this technique is much popular today, it got mixed feedback due to the results it delivers to the patients. The main drawback of this technique is that it has no specific scientific records or background knowledge to explain the real techniques involved in the world.
This leads Bowen therapy to be a simple technique or treatment method without any particular records except the patient’s feedback and results.
What are the Basic Procedures Involved?
The Bowen technique is really a powerful and an excellent multidimensional technique that has been specifically formulated for the structural integration of the bodily organs through the stimulation of the central nervous system as well as the autonomic nervous system.
The Bowen therapy consists of small sequential moves with varying pressures at specific sites on the body area. With just some amazing soft touches and not the thrusting actions, one can easily get relief from neck, shoulder, and back pain with this amazing technique. The soft touches and moves are made on the specific muscles and points on the body.
The movement will be exhibited in a pleasant manner so that the patient gets much relaxed and feels the ultimate comfort. It has been seen that a patient experiencing pain in the body gets relief within a very short period of time with the help of this technique.
Bowen therapy is safe to use and it can be used by anyone without any risk. The Bowen therapy helps not only to relieve the body pain and neck stiffness but also helps in improving the blood circulation, lymphatic drainage, venous drainage, elimination of toxins, mobility of the joints, posture stabilization, proper digestion, assimilation and absorption of nutrients, etc.
How can Bowen Therapy Benefit The Patients?
The major objective of the neuro structural integration technique or Bowen is to remove the pain as well as the blockages in the homeostasis and to bring back structural integrity effectively. With the help of neuromuscular integration technique, the body gets an opportunity to reintegrate or reunite on various levels which results in maintaining the proper physiology of the body.
By integrating the fascia of the bodily structures the specific receptors get stimulated which enable the body to heal or reintegrate by it to correct and treat the dysfunctions and also to maintain the body homeostasis. The neuromuscular integration technique is not a symptomatic treatment instead it treats from the root level by targeting the main cause of the problems.
The most positive aspect of the Bowen therapy technique is that it treats the body as a whole and in a holistic way. The Bowen therapy acts on all levels like physical, mental as well as emotional levels of the human being.
The effect of the neuro structural integration technique gets multiplied and the patients get excellent benefits when tried confidently. Thus when implemented in a proper way this therapy or technique helps in proper integration of the bodily structures.
It is in the hands of the therapist to make the Bowen technique more effective. Hence the therapist or the person who is applying Bowen therapy should be strong enough with full knowledge and skills in the Bowen technique.
