The Bowen technique is an extremely gentle and effective method of treating back pain during pregnancy. Changes in posture during pregnancy put additional pressure on the muscles that support the spine. The tension in these muscles causes stiffness and pain in the back, and can also cause compression of the nerves that leave the spine. This will affect your nervous system.
The following movements 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 a reduction in pain and stiffness, an increase in blood flow, and a rebalancing of your nervous system.
Whether your back pain is in the lower or upper back, it is important to treat both areas.
1. Position the patient seated backwards, leaning against the back of the chair (with a pillow to support the arms, if necessary). Make sure she’s comfortable.
2. Make the patient sit up straight. Notice the curve of your lower back (lumbar region). This is where the first step should be taken.
3. Now ask your patient to lean forward comfortably.
4. Stand on the left side.
5. Place your hands with your thumbs out perpendicular. Try to form a square.
6. Place your hands one inch from the left column. It should be just above the erector spinae muscle.
7. Apply light pressure to pull the skin away from the spine. Hold this position for about 5 seconds.
8. As the patient exhales, move the thumbs toward the spine. This movement should be done very gently as the muscles can be very tense.
9. Now, with both index fingers, place them an inch away from the spine on the right side.
10. Applying light pressure, push the skin away from the muscle and away from the spine.
11. Hold this position for 5 seconds.
12. As the patient exhales, roll the fingers very gently over the muscle toward the spine.
13. You have now completed the movements in the lower back.
14. Let stand 2 minutes before continuing.
15. Make sure the patient is warm and comfortable (offer a blanket if necessary).
16. Now move to the upper back.
17. Find the bottom of the shoulder blades.
18. Draw an imaginary line down the spine from one shoulder blade to the other.
19. Repeat the movements you did (lower back) on your upper back.
30. You have now completed both upper and lower back movements.
31. Let the patient rest in this position for a few minutes.
32. Offer him a glass of water and help him stand 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 heal. However, a pregnant woman will not be able to correct her posture. This leads to a new injury. Once the tension is released, you will feel immediate relief, but this will unfortunately be short-lived as the source of the tension (weight bearing) is still present. Because of this, it should be treated whenever necessary (when in pain), leaving at least a day between each treatment.
If a new injury does not occur (that is, the patient does not feel 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 pain it is almost certain that you will have an imbalanced nervous system caused by compression of the nerves that leave your spinal cord. Some signs of an unbalanced nervous system are headaches, anxiety, depression. and neck pain. By releasing your muscles from their tense state, you directly treat aches and pains in your back and indirectly treat everything that your nervous system controls. This is pretty much your whole body.
