A Bowenwork treatment begins with carefully assessing the client’s physical issues through testing methods that point us to the primary cause of the issues. It is very common for a client to have pain or dysfunction in an area of their body such as the low back, hip, knee or ankle, that has its primary origin in the neck, jaw or skull. Once the primary issue is discovered, specific treatment is applied to restore normalcy to this area, as well as to the secondary areas. I have had many clients where the origin of their recent pain or dysfunction in the knee, shoulder or hip was mysterious or unknown. I have also had many clients with a long history of low back, hip or shoulder pain. In many of these cases, the primary issue was one of misalignment of the jaw or the neck, that responded to the Bowenwork treatment, resolving their pain in the area of complaint.
The reason that the body does this is based in the central nervous system protecting itself from injury. This protective response is hierarchical in that the brain is the highest priority for protection, then the spinal cord, and then the nerve trunks. When the brain or nearby neural structures are threatened, the connective tissue that covers the brain, spinal cord, and nerve trunks shortens, and it is the shortening of this tissue that creates a tension in the body that eventually causes pain or dysfunction. The symptoms along the way include headaches, muscle spasms and knotted and tense muscles.
A condition that has been long-term or gradual onset in nature will likely require more treatments than a recent injury.
A typical treatment lasts between 30 and 60 minutes, and does not require undressing. Specific self-care exercises and adjustments to daily activity are a part of each treatment plan.