Most older people will tell you that it’s no fun getting old. As our body ages and slows down it can often start to ache most of the time, with old injuries or broken bones presenting problems for the first time in years.
Arthritis can start at any age but it commonly begins or worsens with age, often presenting for the first time after the middle years.
Arthritic pain can be so bad it’s thought that up to 25% of all GP visits are concerned with arthritic conditions. Anti-inflammatory drugs or steroids sometimes ease pain and increase mobility but they tend to have side effects which are often as unpleasant as the initial symptoms they were treating so Bowen therapy can offer a more holistic approach in conjunction with medication and in some cases allow arthritis suffers to reduce their medication.
Long term pain can severely impact people’s quality of life, stealing their joy and often leading to depression too. Although it may not be life-threatening pain can indicate serious health problems and should be treated seriously.
Bowen therapy can help alleviate the pain from the first treatment through gentle relaxation moves. When we feel pain in one area, our body will try to use it as little as possible and over-use other parts of the body to compensate for that. Of course the firing patterns in these muscles are altered as they try and take the pain away from the arthritic joints causing a cascade of compensating events to take place and eventually there are more problem areas and injury becomes more widespread. Eventually this can bring stress and tension to the whole body, so these simple relaxation moves can be highly effective in breaking the cycle and reducing the pain by re-orientating the muscle, tendon and ligament fibres which can allow balance to return to the tissues.
What is Arthritis and How Can Bowen Therapy Help?
Arthritis means inflamed joint often caused in old age by wear and tear, trauma or infection. Although there are many different types of arthritis they can be alleviated through Bowen therapy by relieving tension in surrounding tissues to help restore balance to the body.
Bowen Therapy relaxes contracted muscles and tendons and improves lymphatic drainage in swollen joints. So when cartilage damage exists and bones continue to rub against each other Bowen Therapy is effective in relieving pain and restoring capacity.
Bowen Therapy works by stimulating natural energy in the body, improving posture and bringing organs back into the correct position. The Bowen moves performed will help release uric acid that often builds up in the joints, creating stiffness and pain.
Why Bowen Therapy is Effective for Arthritis and in Aged Care
Bowen therapy is characterised by a series of gentle, precise moves carried out in a rolling motion. Bowen therapy is usually done with the patient lying clothed on a massage table but it can be adapted to treat people in the sitting position.
Bowen therapy is particularly useful in aged care because it is gentle and there is no vigorous rubbing or excessive joint mobilisation techniques involved. It works on the supporting structures to help increase range of motion within the joints.
As it does when treating any form of pain, Bowen Therapy takes the central nervous system out of sympathetic dominance, which keeps the body switched on and in the fright, fight or flight mode which creates tension and stress in the tissues. It then brings the nervous system back to the parasympathetic dominance which encourages the body to rest, relax and repair allowing the body’s own innate self-healing processes to begin.
It’s a safe, effective and gentle form of body work that can successfully treat arthritis and many other aches and pains which are brought on in ageing.
Recommended for Arthritis
There isn’t any cure for arthritis but if you suffer from this painful condition a few things that can help are:
- Gentle exercise like hydrotherapy, yoga or pilates;
- A good diet full of unprocessed foods and packed with super foods – broccoli has been found to be particularly good for arthritis;
Of course Bowen therapy will also help you to stay pain free and keep your body in balance no matter what state your joints are in.
I believe Bowen therapy can contribute to making everybody better to some degree, but it’s not something you can fully understand by reading about it. It wasn’t until I tried Bowen therapy myself that I understood how powerful it was.
So don’t just take my word for it. If you or a loved one are suffering from arthritis, book them in for a session with me because you really can make your body better with Bowen.
Contact me now to book for yourself or a loved one or to ask about training and courses in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast or in Adelaide, South Australia.
