The Bowen Technique is an extremely gentle and effective method of treating back pain during pregnancy. Changes in posture experienced during pregnancy put added strain on the muscles supporting the spine. Tension in these muscles leads to stiffness and pain in the back, and can also cause compression of the nerves exiting the spine. This will affect your nervous system.
The moves below work on these muscles and relax them very effectively, relieving stiffness and pain in the back. By effectively relaxing these muscles you allow the nerves to be free of compression and allow the nervous system to act more effectively. The results are reduced pain and stiffness, increased blood flow and the re-balancing of your nervous system
Whether your back pain is localized to your lower back or upper back, it is important to treat both areas.
1. Position the patient sitting down backwards, leaning against the back of the chair (with a pillow supporting the arms, if necessary). Ensure she is comfortable.
2. Get the patient to sit up straight. Observe the curve of her lower back (lumbar region). This is where the first move should be made.
3. Now ask your patient to lean forward comfortably.
4. Stand on the left side.
5. Place your hands with your thumbs out perpendicularly. Try to form a square.
6. Place your hands one inch away from the spine on the left. You should be right on top of the erector spinae muscle.
7. Apply slight pressure to draw the skin away from the spine. Hold this position for about 5 seconds
8. As the patient breathes out, roll your thumbs forward toward the spine. This move should be done very gently as the muscles may be very tense.
9. Now using both index fingers, place them one inch away from the spine on the right hand side.
10. Applying slight pressure push the skin away from the muscle, and away from the spine.
11. Hold this position for 5 seconds.
12. As the patient breathes out, very gently roll your fingers over the muscle towards the spine.
13. You have now completed the moves on the lower back.
14. Allow 2 minutes of rest before carrying on.
15. Ensure the patient is comfortable and warm (offer a blanket if needed).
16. Now move to the upper back.
17. Find the bottom of the shoulder blades.
18. Draw an imaginary line across the spine from one shoulder blade to the other.
19. Repeat the moves you performed (on the lower back) on the upper back.
30. You have now completed both moves for the upper and lower back.
31. Allow the patient to rest in this position for a few minutes.
32. Offer her a glass of water and assist her in standing up.
In a non-pregnant person, this treatment would effectively remove the tension in the muscles and by adopting the correct posture, the injury will be healed. However, a pregnant woman will not be able to correct her posture. This leads to re-injury. Once the tension is released, she will feel immediate relief but this will unfortunately be short lived as the source of the tension (weigh bearing) is still present. Because of this, she should be treated whenever necessary (when in pain), allowing at least a day in between each treatment.
If re-injury does not occur (i.e. the patient is not in pain), this treatment can be used to maintain a healthy, tension free spine with weekly treatments.
This technique is not limited to treating back pain.If you suffer from back aches you will almost certainly have an imbalanced nervous system caused by the compression of the nerves exiting your spinal cord.Some signs of an unbalanced nervous system are headaches, anxiety, depression and neck pain.By releasing the muscles from their tense state, you directly treat the aches and pains in your back and indirectly treat everything controlled by your nervous system. This is more or less your entire body.
