You can do something about your Bunions, you do no have to accept that they will just continue to worsen. What’s more you can do most of this work at home, with a little help from your Bowen Therapist.
Although this process is effective, the process of getting rid of a bunion is a long one and needs constant effort on your behalf, though it is worth it and will improve your overall body mobility and decrease pain levels.
Fascia is the fascinating biological fabric and glue that holds us together. It forms directly under the skin and serves as a strong layer of connective tissue between the skin and muscles underneath it. Fascia is thin, but very fibrous and strong. It is the most prolific physical structure in the body being a continuous 3D web of tissue that ‘wraps’ our whole body. It’s responsible for maintaining structural integrity proving protection and support and shock absorption. It is also a matrix which facilitates intercellular communication. If you’ve handled raw chicken breasts, fascia is the white stretchy thin sheets of tissue between the skin and muscle of the meat.
Fascia functions as part o f the body’s first line of defence against pathogens and infection. After injury it is the fascia that creates the environment for repair. It contributes more to injury holding patterns than anything else. Fascia responds to forces, all cells place traction forces on their adhesion sites spreading and distorting in a matrix. This is fundamental to locomotion. In times where an athlete requires his body to perform to the maximum, what if there was an underlying bunching or stress pattern in the fascia? This would inhibit the natural movement.
In 1888 human dissectionists removed fascia from the body, leaving it on the floor and deemed it too complicated to examine. Long ignored, the fascial system is now getting its rightful due of attention, from both therapists and researchers. Bowen technique is pioneering fascia techniques, working on the whole body connection rather than locally to just the specific injury site.
Each time we fall over, flex, bend or overextend fascia changes. As children our natural elasticity gives us the ability to recover but as adults this often results in injury. In adult athletes this is of particular importance. Look at a football player for example, running to tackle, kicking the ball and sliding across the pitch. Think about his hamstrings and what influences go together to result in that tackle, kick slide. The stretch to the hamstrings is at the top of acceleration, subject to a sliding stretch beyond the normal range of movement, it may also be experiencing torsion as a result of a sudden change of direction. Longer term the fascia and muscle could have become shortened and plasticised through incorrect training methods. The hamstring might also be affected by having to accommodate biomechanical differences caused by an old ankle injury or an imbalance in the pelvis or an old sacro-illiac injury. Remember how closer symmetry leads to a more efficient athlete.
Fascia is a complex neurological matrix reacting to conditions in the internal and external environment. It’s rich in receptors that can alter tensions and is responsive to touch and other interactions, this is where Bowen therapy can be extremely helpful. Bowen releases fascial strain and balances tension distributing more equal forces through all planes. It takes pressure off elongated or shortened muscle groups restoring more natural vascular and lymphatic circulation.
Bowen is non-invasive intervental touch in which the therapist reawakens the innate healing properties of the body and allows to it complete the restorative work.