Bowen technique

This article is about the holistic system of healing. For

the sheep shearing technique see sheep shearing.
The Bowen technique is an alternative type of bodywork
named after Australian Thomas Ambrose Bowen (Tom
Bowen) (19161982).
Bowen had no formal medical training,
[1]
and described
his approach as a gift from God.
[2]
He referred to
himself as an osteopath and tried to join the Australian
register of osteopaths in 1981, but did not qualify for
the title.
[3]
He died as an unrecognized practitioner of
manual therapy.
[4]
At the same time, in 1975, several
years before his death, a public inquiry (government of
Victoria, Australia) reported that Bowen treated an esti-
mated 13,000 patients per year, with an 80 percent suc-
cess rate in symptoms that were associated with a wide
range of conditions.
[5][6]
It was not until some years af-
ter his death that the term Bowen Technique was in-
vented. The technique has been popularized by some of
the six men who observed him at work including Oswald
Rentsch, an osteopath
[7]
whose interpretation has become
the dominant, but not unchallenged, form.
[4]
Learning the
technique has been reported as requiring 120 hours of
instruction,
[8]
or as being easily learned in a weekend
workshop.
[9]
As of 2009 there were 26,000 practitioners worldwide.
The technique goes by a wide variety of names includ-
ing: Fascial Therapy, Smart Bowen, Fascial Kinetics,
Neuro-structural Integration (NST), Fascial Bowen and
Bowenwork.
[4]
Each session typically involves gentle rolling motions
along the muscles, tendons, and fascia.
[10]
The therapys
distinctive features are the minimal nature of the physical
intervention and pauses incorporated in the treatment.
[11]
Proponents claim these pauses allow the body to reset
itself.
[2]
Bowen did not document his technique, and as a result its
practice after his death has followed one or other diering
interpretation of his work.
[4]
In 1973 Bowen himself had
referred to his ability to average 65 patients per day, yet
the technique as it is commonly practiced today cannot
achieve that kind of throughput.
[4]
A 2011 systematic review in the Journal of Alternative
and Complementary Medicine concluded that the Bowen
technique is a a useful CAM practice, but commented
negatively on the quality of the available research mate-
rial, and said, it is evident that further research is needed
to systematically test this modality, before widespread
recommendations can be given.
[5]
Quackwatch includes
NST (Bowen Therapy) extquotedbl in its list of ques-
tionable treatments.
[12]
1 References
[1] Walsh, Nancy (2002). Touch therapy may thaw frozen
shoulder (Small Study of Bowen Technique) extquotedbl.
Family Practice News (15).
[2] Young, J (2007). Complementary Medicine For Dummies.
For Dummies. pp. 2578. ISBN 0-470-02625-1.
[3] Matthews, K(1999-04-03). Healing Hands - About Tom
Bowen. Geelong Advertiser.
[4] Pennington, Katrina (2012). Bowen Therapy: a review
of the profession. Journal of the Australian Traditional-
Medicine Society 18 (4): 217.
[5] Hansen, Christine; Taylor-Piliae, Ruth E. (2011). What
is Bowenwork? A Systematic Review. The Journal of
Alternative and Complementary Medicine 17 (11): 1002.
doi:10.1089/acm.2010.0023. PMID 22087611.
[6] Klotter, Julie (January 2005). Bowen Technique.
Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients (via HighBeam
(subscription required)). Retrieved 2013-012-17.
[7] Shealy, C. Norman (1996). The complete family guide to
alternative medicine: an illustrated encyclopedia of nat-
ural healing. Barnes Noble Books. p. 47. ISBN 978-
0760702390. In 1974 he invited osteopath and man-
ual therapist Oswald Rentsch to study and document the
method.
[8] Knaster, M (1996). Bowen Technique. Discovering the
Bodys Wisdom. Random House. pp. 33841. ISBN
0553373277.
[9] Clarke, Stephen (2012). A Textbook of Bowen Tech-
nique (Book review) extquotedbl. Journal of the Aus-
tralian Traditional-Medicine Society 18 (4): 245.
[10] Bowen Unravelled, A journey into the Fascial Understan-
ing of The Bowen Technique, Lotus Publishing, 2013
ISBN 978-1-58394-765-4
[11] Andrea, Kargel-Schwanhaeusser (2012). Gen-
eral features and quality of Bowen therapy. Eu-
ropean Journal of Integrative Medicine 4: 189.
doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2012.07.919.
[12] Index of Questionable Treatments. Quackwatch. Re-
trieved September 2013.
1
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