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Michelle Marr MSc, PgCertEd^a, MCSP Chartered Physiotherapist and Lecturer, Julian Baker^b, Director and Principal Instructor of The European College of Bowen Studies, Nicky Lambon MA, DipTP, CertEdFE^a, MCSP Principal Lecturer, Physiotherapy Programme Manager and Director of Faculty Placement Unit at Coventry University and Jo Perry MSc, MCSP, MMACP^a, Grad Assoc Phys Senior Lecturer, Coventry University

Bowen has had quite a few studies carried out, some of them quite good and others of interest but not that useful from a scientific perspective. If Bowen as a physical therapy is to stand up in the world of evidenced based medicine, then we need to provide evidence of the effects of what we do.  This piece of research is a very important step forward for the Bowen community.   This puts Bowen in a different world and is in Integrated Medicine terms, one of the most important events for Bowen since its inception.

This has serious implications for Advertising standards (the ASA). We now have a peer reviewed, ethically approved piece of research, allowing us to state clearly, that a single treatment of The Bowen Technique, significantly increases and maintains hamstring flexibility.

The Article can be seen in full on PubMed searches and is also on the Science Direct website.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360859210001075

The abstract can be downloaded here: Hamstrings reasearch pdf

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.

About Bunions

Bunions are one of the most common forefoot deformities. A displacement of the bone under the 1st toe occurs. This causes the big toe to move towards the smaller toes. This shifting of the bones causes a bony prominence on the side of the foot. Over time the big toe may come to rest under ) the 2nd toe or a hammer toe may occur. This is when the toe contracts and presses on the shoe.

Secondary symptoms are redness, swelling and pain which may be present along the inside margin of the foot or corns in other places on the foot especially on top of the 2nd toe.  Callouses occur on the soles or sides of the feet. Stiffness can occur at the big toe due to arthritis.  You may also experience ingrowing toenails or a bursitis at the bunion joint.

A bunion is more common in women than men due to women wearing tighter fitting shoes. This condition can cause a variety of different soft tissue and bony complaints which may result in severe pain.   Tight fitting shoes and an uneven gait caused by poor posture are the main preventable causes of bunions.  Both of these can be address by a course of Bowen Therapy and the bunions can be helped by following this procedure.

What do I need?

Idosalve, formally manufactured as Iodex

Idosalve is a combination of Methyl Salicilate and Iodine, mixed into a peanut oil base.  Therefore care should be taken if you have a nut allergy. It was manufactured commercially for many years, under the brand name Iodex, and Idosalve is now made especially for ECBS, although Iodex is still avaiable in some countries and over the internet

Both of these preparations are good to use for bunions as the iodine starts the process of breaking down the joint calcification and Methyl Salicilate eases the pain and inflammation.  Clients with arthritic joints, especially fingers, find a regular application reduces the pain and increases flexibility in the joint..

Epsom Salts

What do I do?

1)  Daily Epsom Salt Footbath.
Add  3 tablespoons of Epsom salts to a footbath or a bowl of pleasantly warm water.
Soak your feet for 10 minutes then dry thoroughly

2)  Twice daily apply Iodex to the outside of the bunion.
Do this after the foot bath and once more at another time of day.

3) Visit your Bowen practitioner to help you with this process.

Why do I need Bowen at all for this protocol?

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.

Normally, these joints are not designed to allow movement. However, when a woman becomes pregnant, a hormone called relaxin is produced which loosens all the pelvic ligaments in order to allow the pelvis slight movement at the time of birth.

It is a physical mis-alignment of the two ilia (ilium) at the anterior surface where they meet at the syphisis pubis.

The front of the pubic bone interlocks. During pregnancy/birth, a fall and possibly other reasons the two pieces separate.  When they come back together they can get out of line, with the pieces still interlocking but one side higher than the other.  Or the whole bone can be tilted higher or lower within the pelvis.  Even if Bowen corrections are made, the pelvis may not stay aligned if the pubis is out.  An additional side effect is that it disrupts the energy flowing through the central meridian.

For some reason, the ligaments occasionally loosen too much and too early before birth. This means they can’t keep the pelvic joints stable so the pelvis moves, especially on weight bearing. All this is made worse by the increased weight of the growing baby and sometimes the symphysis pubis joint actually separates slightly. The result is mild to severe pain, usually in the pubic area, and is called SPD.

What are the symptoms?

The most common is pain and difficulty when walking. Some women describe the

feeling of their pelvis coming apart. The pain is made worse when turning in bed or doing something that involves standing on one leg, such as climbing up stairs, getting dressed and getting in and out of a car.

The pain is generally felt in the pubis and/or the sacro-iliac joints, but can also be experienced in the groin, the inner side of the thighs, the hips and in one or both buttocks.

When is it most likely to start?

At any time from the first trimester onwards. Some women can be fine during their pregnancy, but get the condition a few days after their baby has been born.SPD sometimes occurs following a period of immobility, an unusually busy overactive period or a particular activity such as swimming breaststroke or lifting something incorrectly.

So what can be done?

If the pain is severe, ask your GP for a referral to a physiotherapist, ideally one who has specialist training in obstetrics and is called a Physiotherapist in Woman’s Health. She or he will be able to assess you and may fit you with a pelvic support belt, which helps to stabilise the pelvis. Your GP will also be able to prescribe painkillers that are safe to take in pregnancy.

The most important thing is to avoid doing anything that aggravates the condition, such as standing on one leg.

• Sit on a chair to get dressed.
• Be very careful to get into a car by putting your bottom on the seat first, and then lifting your legs into the car.
• When you get out, lift your legs onto the pavement and then lift your bottom off the seat.
• If you go swimming, don’t swim breaststroke.
• Always turn over in bed with your knees firmly together.
• Make sure you get a rest (in bed) every day.
• If you already have a child, you will need help, as you will find it difficult to lift him or her.

National Childbirth Trust say up to 1 in 35 women have SPD.

Or for those willing to try the alternative approaches:

The Bowen Technique can be very effective in treating this disorder or you could try osteopathic technique, or McTimoney Chiropractic.

April 24, 2007

Adventurer Bear Grylls’ battle with back pain and high cholesterol

By Moira Petty

To the outside world, the adventurer Bear Grylls epitomises supreme fitness. The man who catapults himself into alien, life-threatening environments, surviving on his wits alone, practically bursts with good health – or so it seems to the viewer watching him on television from the comfort of the sofa.

Yet despite appearances, Bear has been plagued with back pain for over ten years – for which he only recently found an effective treatment.

More worryingly, he also suffers from high levels of cholesterol, caused by a genetic disease which killed his father and grandfather – and which poses as much of a danger to him as his Boys’ Own exploits.
Bear Grylls

Adventurer Bear Grylls may throw himself into some of the most uninhabitable places on earth but the super fit action man suffers from a genetic condition which means he suffers from very high colesterol levels

Bear’s father, former Tory MP Sir Michael Grylls, died suddenly of a heart attack at 66 in 2001; his grandfather also died prematurely of heart disease.

But it was only six months ago that Bear had a cholesterol test. He was staggered to find that he had a reading of six-and-ahalf, which is very high for someone of his age and fitness.

“I had been in the SAS Territorial Army and spent my life on physical challenges. Even when at home I exercised six days a week, alternating circuit training, running and yoga,” says Bear, now 33.

Without these high levels of activity his reading could have been even worse; his older sister, Lara, had an even higher reading of eight.

Doctors recommend that cholesterol levels are under five and even lower for patients at particular risk of heart disease.

Bear appears to suffer from a hereditary predisposition to dangerously high levels of cholesterol, which clogs the arteries and can lead to heart attacks and stroke. The condition – hypercholesterolaemia – affects seven people in 1,000.

Men with the condition are at greater risk of heart attack: 80 per cent will have had their first heart attack by 60, but many will suffer one in their 40s or 50s.

Although the condition is not caused by a bad diet, it can be improved by one low in fats.

Despite the warning given by his father’s and grandfather’s heart attacks, Bear had enjoyed a diet rich in animal fats, especially meat and milk which he thought necessary to sustain his high-octane and physically strenuous existence.

But soon after his cholesterol test, he came across The Rave Diet, written by American filmmaker Mike Anderson, who had seen members of his family die of cancer and heart disease.

Based on fruit, vegetables and wholegrains with as much raw food as possible and no animal fats or vegetable oils, it is a Spartan regime, but Bear has embraced it enthusiastically.

“After I read this, the links between the heart disease which killed my father and grandfather, my high cholesterol and my fatty diet became startlingly clear. My mother fed my father butter and cream all day long.

“It breaks my heart that my father never knew my children. He should have been around for another 25 years.”

Bear has learnt that the key to his survival may lie not in his awesome ability to live off hostile landscapes, but in adhering to the sort of lifestyle advice promoted in every GP’s surgery.

“I am planning to have my cholesterol tested again soon. But I think my new diet is the answer.”

Bear, his wife Shara and two sons (aged four and one) now eat neither meat nor fish, but get their protein from nuts, seeds, pulses and quinoa (a proteinrich grain which can be used like rice or as a porridge).

They also drink oatmilk (made from oats mixed with water and other grains and beans; it is high in fibre, vitamin E, folic acid and phytochemicals, which fight cancer and heart disease).

“We’re not bonkers about it – if we go out, we eat what’s available. And when I’m on an expedition I eat what I have to in order to stay alive. I’ve eaten sheep’s eyes, the still hot meat from a zebra killed by a lion, and maggots which give you 70 calories to the ounce.”

Back Problems

As well as his risk of heart disease, Bear also suffers from chronic back problems.

Twelve years ago, aged 21, he broke his back when training with the SAS after his parachute failed to inflate at 16,000 feet.

“I should have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but thought there was time to resolve the problem.” He landed on his parachute pack, which was like an iron bar, and fractured three vertebrae.

It was extraordinary that he was alive, let alone not paralysed – but incredibly the spinal cord, which channels messages between the brain and all parts of the body, had not been severed.

Bear was treated at Headley Court, the defence forces’ rehabilitation centre in Surrey.

“The doctor said I was a miracle man. I had come so close to severing my spinal cord. Because of my age and my fitness, they decided I could avoid surgery.”

Instead, he underwent ten hours a day of physiotherapy, swimming, stretching and ultrasound treatment – a programme designed to help servicemen get back to active duty, but rarely available to civilians.

The alternative – and one offered to most people in a similar situation, but without Bear’s peak fitness – is surgery to fuse the broken vertebrae.

‘I had nightmares for months. Still, I was lucky to walk away without surgery – but ever since, I have suffered twinges and pains.”

Deep massage helped, but he says he always felt physically ‘unbalanced’ by his injury.

Bowen Technique

Then a year ago his wife suggested he see a Bowen therapist. The Bowen technique, developed in the 1950s, involves using rolling movements over muscles, ligaments and tendons.

This is said to send impulses to the brain to trigger the body’s own healing system.

Precisely how it works is a mystery, but many professional football clubs maintain a Bowen therapist as it has been shown to be very effective in realigning the skeletal structure.

“I was sceptical, but wanted to keep an open mind,” says Bear.

Sarah Yearsley

He went to see East Sussex based Bowen therapist Sarah Yearsley.

“With the slightest squiggle of her fingers, it felt like petrol was being put back in my tank and I could feel all the stress seeping away. More importantly, after my back accident, my spine and pelvis had lost alignment, so I felt unbalanced.”

Sarah explained that Bear’s pelvis was slightly twisted – and that this would cause endless problems and backache.

Most fans of Bear’s Born Survivor series will not have noticed anything wrong, yet a subtle misalignment – visible only to the expert eye – can impact on total health For Bear, who is often jumping out of planes, having complete structural alignment is even more important than for the average person.

Bear describes himself as now ‘hooked’ and has treatment every month.

Perilous Challenge

It has helped him prepare for his most perilous challenge yet. Next month he is attempting a powered paraglide over Everest’s 29,035ft summit.

“I am scared I could black out in the click of a finger.” If this venture seems inconsistent with his desire to lead a healthy life, Bear has an announcement.

“This is the last of my big expeditions or challenges. They’re getting too dangerous. I’m not on the Ranulph Fiennes road of trying to beat the last expedition.” Sir Ranulph has been an inspiration to Bear all his life.

As a boy, Bear climbed the bell tower at Eton, where the baronet had also once been a pupil. “In the lead lining, I found the initials RF. I put BG next to his,” he recalls.

But while he is ‘full of dreams and ambitions,’ he also has a family and a long-suffering wife at home.

In fact, relaxation is vital to Bear, who says, somewhat surprisingly: “I don’t thrive on stress. I love lying on the deck on our houseboat reading a book.

“I’m terrified of walking into a room full of people. Sitting down at a dinner table with 15 strangers brings me out in a sweat.” Yet, he says, fear isn’t the reason not to do something.

“I’m scared of heights, yet I’ve just abseiled 770 feet off Canary Wharf for charity.

“But the folly of youth is that you think you’re immortal. Losing my father and having my children has brought me to my senses. I want to be around to love and guide my sons for a long time.”

For more information, visit: www.bowentechnique.org.uk; www.bter.org.

The Daily Mail, April 24, 2007
By Moira Petty