Before I became a body-worker, I was a Bowen Therapist. Before I was a Bowen Therapist, I was a Podiatrist. I practiced mainstream podiatric medicine and foot surgery until 1995. That was when I took my first class on the Bowen Technique.
Before I took the Bowen class, I had hammertoes and chronic low back pain for 12 years - which resolved after 1 single-45 minute Bowen session!
Before I had the Bowen session, I had been to the chiropractor 3 times a week for the past 6 weeks to reduce a supposed subluxed sacro-iliac joint. Before I went to the chiropractor, I went to acupuncture. Before I went to acupuncture, I went to massage therapists. Before I went to massage therapists, I went to physical therapists. Before I went to physical therapists, I went to my medical doctor. Before I went to my medical doctor, I had my first episode of low back pain. Before I had my first episode of low back pain, I ran my 3rd annual marathon a week before, and experienced severe cramps in my inner thigh. Before I ran my 3rd annual marathon, I ran my 2nd annual marathon, and experienced severe cramps in my inner thigh. Before I ran my second annual marathon, I ran my first marathon, and experienced severe cramps in my inner thigh. Before I ran my 1st marathon, I guess I was suffering mid-life crises.
When I integrated Bowen Therapy into my podiatry practice, a number of events led me on a whole new journey. Patients often said, "Dr. Mosher, I do not know what you did to me last week with that treatment you gave me, but you have changed my life"! Other patients said, "Dr. Mosher, you won't believe what happened"! Some patients said, "If only the medical doctors would take this natural and holistic approach to health issues"!
I found that; I did not inject as much cortisone, did not prescribe as many drugs, and did not do as many surgeries as I had the times before I started doing Bowen. My practice took on a whole new face. I still did the mainstream stuff when I needed to. My patients who had foot pain and dysfunction plus back, neck, shoulder pain from favoring their foot were treated with the usual tape and orthotics plus the Bowen technique. As their back, neck, shoulder, headaches, etc cleared - up many would refer someone with similar kinds of symptoms. So, patients were presenting with headaches, back pains, knee pains, sciatica, etc, all of which I was not licensed to treat. In order to stay under the radar, I have all my patients sign a waiver form that says that I am NOT diagnosing or treating their medical conditions as a body-worker / Bowen therapist.
What intrigued me was the fact that so many medical issues underwent "Spontaneous Remissions", following Bowen Therapy. Additionally, the Australian establishment investigated Tom Bowen in 1975 for "Practicing medicine without a license". Their conclusion was that he was merely doing a form of massage, and therefore was doing nothing wrong. Many other questions arose during my journey. One of which was, why Bowen consistently helps with medical issues, while other forms of massage and body-work do not. When I say medical issues, I mean any condition a patient sees their medical doctor for. Not just musculoskeletal pain or neuromuscular pain. Following is a typical case that I was involved with.
Meridian Blockage
One Monday morning, a few months following my 1st Bowen class, a patient presented with a lump the size of an almond beneath the arch on the right foot. She told me that there was no pain involved however, she was favoring it and this was causing pains in her hip and lower back. She was also concerned because we are all suspicious when a "lump" appears. I reassured her that the lump was a classical benign plantar fibroma. Only if it grew rapidly or became painful should she consider having it removed. I informed her about the therapy that I had recently discovered and she immediately took me up on my offer. When we were all finished, she arose from the table and said, "Oh my, I feel so good". "Can I come back tomorrow for another treatment?" I told her that we should wait one week before another session and for her to make an appointment.
When she returned the following week, the lump had reduced to the size of a pea and she said that she could not wait for another Bowen treatment. She scheduled another check on her foot and Bowen session one week later. I began the therapy prior to looking at her foot. During a point where the muscles are released on the inner thigh area she asked, "Is there any connection between that lump on my foot and my stomach?" I said, I do not think so. Why?" She replied, "On the 1st visit when you released those muscles in the inner part of my thigh and left the room for me to rest, I immediately felt like a gush of worms crawling around in my stomach. All day long, I had a queasy feeling in my stomach. In addition, when I got home from work that night my stomach and gallbladder pain completely disappeared. I have not had to take any of my stomach medications for the past 3 weeks. In addition, I flushed $200 worth of prescriptions down the toilet this morning. When I get to work, I am calling the gastroenterologist who has been taking care of me the past 2 years and canceling my appointment for next month for the endoscope at the surgery center... I won't need him any more". I begged her not to mention my connection with any of this, as I do not want to be in any trouble with the medical community. She assured me that she would not and, she said, "Look at my foot".
As I looked for the lump, it was almost completely gone. It was about the size of a grain of rice! I found an old foot reflexology book and opened to the foot chart. Sure enough, the lump was right in the middle of the stomach and liver zone. I told her about that and she laughed, left the office quite happily, and has never returned. About 2 years later, I was studying Acupuncture and recalled the incident. When I looked at the meridian chart, I saw that 2 of the 4 meridians that pass through the inner thigh and groin are the stomach and liver meridians. I could chalk it all up to coincidence or spontaneous remission. Or, I could believe that there was some kind of obstruction in that muscle tissue which was blocking the flow of energy. When the blockage was released she then felt the "Gush of worms into her stomach". Then, she healed herself. I tend to believe in the later. What is most perplexing is that the pathology reports following biopsy of these fibrous lesions in the plantar foot area always state, "Benign fibroplasia. Multiple fibroblasts and swirls of collagen". I am not sure as to how this scar-like tissue could recede in 3 weeks. But, it did.
The Bowen technique probably originated with massage therapists in Australia during the pre- WW II era, which were called, "Flickers". Tom Bowen was taught by a man who used the flicking technique. Tom refined it and soon after, surpassed his teacher's notoriety. Tom taught 6 men over the years, how to perform his technique. They were referred to as, "Tom's Boys". When Tom passed in 1982, one of his students, named Ossie Rentsch began teaching the technique. His first American student in circa 1988 was the late Milton Albrecht, who was my teacher. Milton taught people from around the world how to do the technique. Today, worldwide there are 3 to 4 Bowen schools and about 40 to 50 different instructors including myself. Bowen Therapy is covered by the Australian National Health Plan. It will probably be covered soon in Canada, where there are many Bowen practitioners.
The basic Bowen "Move" is performed by placing fingers or thumbs on the muscle to be moved. The skin, subcutaneous tissue and fascia are stretched in the opposite direction of the move. Pressure is slowly applied to the muscle and increased as the practitioner raises the wrists in order to increase the angulation until the muscle snaps out from under the digits which cause the muscle to vibrate. Each of the 4 parts, [touch, stretch, pressure, and vibration] creates a reflex arc, all of which seem to cause an unwinding process. This unwinding usually begins during a 2 to 4 minute rest period which follows a series of moves. I occasionally saw the unwinding process continue for years following the last time I gave a treatment. Frequently, the knots which occur on the Rhomboids are gone by the time the rest period is over. In addition to the unwinding process, many of the moves in the procedures are over meridian points and along the meridian pathways. Frequently patients feel a runner's high for the rest of the day following treatment as a result of endorphin release from the point. Also, many patients feel electrical impulses and tingling after the moves are made. That's because the meridians are conduits for direct currents and the meridian points are transformers which boost the flow of the direct currents.
A full body session from TMJ to the Ankles with many procedures in between takes 30 to 40 minutes depending on how many procedures and how long the rests. However, the practitioner is only touching the patient for 5 to 7 minutes. Each part takes 15 to 40 seconds to perform bilateral. Sessions are best given a week apart, and in my experience, the patients who respond favorably, are completely well in 3 weeks.
For additional information there are many informative websites for Bowen Therapy. My site is: www.bowenhomestudy.com. I have some links to other sites which might be helpful to anyone interested in pursuing career enhancement opportunities using this fabulous technique. Also, I am dedicated to answering any and all questions about Bowen since it is my passion, so please contact me if I Can help you in you're life journey.
Dr. Mosher, aka Mitchell -
bowenfootdoc@yahoo.com
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