1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Polymyalgia Rheumatica and GCA

PMR, Bowen experiences

Posted , 11 users are following.

LayneTX
LayneTX

Perhaps a post just on Bowen Technique and how it has helped with your Polymyalgia or other healing experiences would be nice to have.

I of course had never heard of it until I got on this wonderful forum.

The Bowen practitioner I found is 90 miles (144 kilometers) away, but I now feel it's worth my drive over there, pains and all. 

I was glad someone here posted what to expect, because someone new might think it's odd the practitioner would leave the room so quick. But, it's that time alone with your self that is required. Time for the Central Nervous System to kick in.

I've had so many "strange" sensations, I'm not sure I can list them all.  She first moves tissue/muscles on my back. Leaves the room, comes back in and asks "did you have any sensations?".  She often asks this to see if there is any feedback for which can lead her to other parts of the body.  Some times I've felt a rush of energy down one leg but not the other. Or heat, or cold, or tingling, or just a feelings of groundedness, almost paralyzing feeling.  She said those are all good, not to worry. wink

Sometimes a concentration of pain, yet not pain, in one of my PMR spots, she said sometimes the energy of the CNS (Central Nervous System) gets stuck.

One time she worked on my hipflexors. When she left the room I felt like one leg was floating in the air, while the other was heavy.

I've never fallen asleep, but sometimes I'm so relaxed the thoughts in my head just don't complete a sentence. Sometimes our minds think about life too much, but Bowen is best if you only be in that moment, think of your self, your central nervous system flowing, doing it's natural job, removing tension you are putting your self in from your thoughts. 

 I had better stop, my editor is acting funny, don't want to lose all this. Please post your experiences.  Let's try to keep the thoughts on Bowen for this post if possible so it can be a reference.

1 like, 26 replies

26 Replies

Next
  • linda17563
    linda17563 LayneTX

    Posted

    I have just had my third session...extremely relaxing but it`s so gentle it puzzles me how it works?...but it certainly helps me....I don`t want it to end!
  • EileenH
    EileenH LayneTX

    Posted

    I've used Bowen to manage back problems for many years - I had 5 years of PMR without any pred and my osteopath and Bowen therapist kept me upright! They couldn't help the "pure PMR" problems but they did keep all the other add-on bits at bay and reduced the amount of pain I had so the PMR was more bearable.

    I've just come back from a session - must have been a lot needing sorted out as I was very aware of the floating sensations Layne speaks of! She has warned me I may really feel it tomorrow as she did a lot - but the weather is to be rubbish so that will have an effect as well no doubt.

    After the session we were talking about doctors being sceptics - I got into real trouble on another forum for suggesting people tried Bowen for certain things alongside PMR. This retired GP had such a paddy - we might as well dance naked under the moon as waste our money on Bowen sessions! There is no mainstream medical evidence for it she insisted. She's never tried it by the way! 

    Anyway - the University Hospital of North Durham, in the NE of England, has had a contract with a local physio practice which also offers Bowen for the last couple of years to supply therapies for their Pain Clinic. Bowen was approved for use for patients for whom the Pain Clinic have been unable to achieve good results, as a last resort, and it has been so successful that the contract has been extended. I mentioned this today - and was told that a doctor at our local hospital also sends certain patients to a physio practice in the town for Bowen and it is also used by hospitals in Austria.

    You can find videos online at Bowen4life - it looks very innocuous but can be very effective. It won't work for everyone but it is said to be particularly effective in frozen shoulder - which is something a lot of PMR patients are told they have before the PMR diagnosis is made. It isn't an open-ended commitment: if it will help YOUR problem you will have seen some change in the symptoms after 3 sessions at the most - often there is an improvement after just one. One lady staggered in on a walking stick and a friend's arm after 6 weeks in bed, only able to get to the bathroom on a zimmer frame. She walked out after an hour's session and forgot the stick! 

    If you have shoulder/neck/rib/low back/upper leg pain or sciatica I think it is well worth investigating. I say again, it won't work for everyone, it won't deal with PMR muscle pain and stiffness, but there are things that creep in alongside that it can improve. Some often improve at higher doses of pred but then return as the dose reduces and you wonder if it is a flare - Bowen may help there.

    And even if it doesn't - I find it as relaxing as a massage and very uplifting. It is worth it just for that - it is usually about the same price as a massage or spa session.

    • maid_mariane
      maid_mariane EileenH

      Posted

      Did I read you right that you have had PMR for 5 years and not on prednisone? How are you coping with the pain at night,
    • EileenH
      EileenH maid_mariane

      Posted

      I had had PMR for 5 years before pred, I've been on pred for about 6 years now. Nightime was the least of my problems in some senses, at least I slept some and then I couldn't feel the pain! I couldn't turn over in bed without thinking about it although once I had found a reasonable position it wasn't too bad. The worst time was early morning - from sometime before 5am my hips started to ache deep in the groin which woke me. I was in bed by 8.30pm - and struggled to get out at 8.30pm to go to the gym for an aqua class after which I could at least move a bit.
  • grandmaDylan
    grandmaDylan LayneTX

    Posted

    I have some medical cover. I will see if they will contribute to bowen therapy. I tried osteopathy a couple of years ago for my fibromyalgia. Unfortunately she had no knowledge of fibro and for several days after my treatment with her I was in horrible pain and never saw any Improvement. I think this bad experience has put me off trying anything else as it was also very very sore whilst she was treating me. I have also tried hypnotherapy but couldn't relax enough to get anything from it. This makes me sound like a lost cause doesn't it?
    • Anhaga
      Anhaga grandmaDylan

      Posted

      Ask around if you can.  Always good to get a recommendation from someone who was helped by a given therapist, etc.  Also, after your bad experience, I think you should make sure to have a conversation about PMR pain before you let anyone else try to manipulate any parts of your body. cry
    • linda17563
      linda17563 grandmaDylan

      Posted

      I have fibro as well, and have given up on massages, even when told to be very gentle it still hurts, and days afterwards.....I even have Bowen in a very comfortable chair...cannot lie on the bed, too painful....but it`s helping me....very gentle.....she has several people go to her for Fibro, and told me I was the first with both (PMR as well)

      Keep looking, don`t give up, I hadn`t heard of it till Eileen mentioned Bowen....Therapists here are more "clued up" than they were years ago when I first became ill....good luckcheesygrin

    • EileenH
      EileenH grandmaDylan

      Posted

      I can't see how osteopathy can help fibro or PMR and the therapist should have admitted that. My osteopath was for specific back problems I've had for years - but they seem to have disappeared with the bowen. Maybe it was the muscle problems causing the bone problems.

      But if you think of a Bowen session being a couple of visits to the cinema or having a pedicure/your nails done or a facial - I think Bowen is worth every cent.

      You may feel something the day after Bowen - because your body is readjusting to a new state - but it should never cause severe pain. I only suggest Bowen BECAUSE it is so gentle.

  • pauline36422
    pauline36422 LayneTX

    Posted

    well layne   you said it all.   i had 4 sessions and was completly free of all my pain. i cannot give it enough praise .it is now 3 month since my last treatment and still pain free,even what i thought was athritic  knees, all that pain has gone too. 3 cheers to bowens from me
  • LayneTX
    LayneTX

    Posted

    I forgot to mention, I had back pains big time, lower, middle and upper!!! I went to recommended (from Rheumy) pain management Doctor, I told him no drugs! First thing he did was prescribe drugs and forgot I was on Prednisone!  I never went back for follow up and went to Bowen instead.

    My back pains have pretty much gone away. Only feel lower and middle if I do something wrong, like lift something without engaging my abs or at funny angle, or too heavy. My upper is mostly between shoulder blades and hurts when I find myself raising my shoulders such as when cold, or stressed, or cutting foods at counter I notice I raise them and hold them there, so using them too much. But during my session when she works the shoulder blade area, ahhhhhhhh, I can't wait, and the rest of the day is glorious. wink 

    Though I've mentioned my drive home is tough on me, she hasn't been able to help my butt bursa pain, but next trip I'll stop more and walk around as she and Eileen recommended. I think that sitting on butt bursa so long just cuts that circulation too much.

    I'm thinking it's all about the circulation, releasing tension. 

    I guess y'all can tell I'm pretty sensitive, to everything, drugs, foods, smells, sounds, pain, .... I never had children,  I hear women who did have children are less sensitive to pain. Saying this because I still have my other PMR pains, but my practitioner is pretty intuitive about people and is helping me open my heart so to speak which helps the tensions, fears, any depression type feelings melt away. As I mentioned in another post, 

    I smile a heck of a lot easier and most often now despite my PMR!!!

    I'm so thankful for so much now. smile 

    I hope others can find a good Bowen practitioner that can benefit their well being as I. 

  • Miu
    Miu LayneTX

    Posted

    Hi, I have had three sessions with a great Bowen therapist and it has been very helpful. My therapist also trained in physio and I think the combination of understanding is really helpful for PMR. She also gave me some gentle kundalini yoga based exercises which have been very helpful in keepings things moving ans warming in my lower back.
  • sarahmcc51
    sarahmcc51 LayneTX

    Posted

    hi layne, just joined this group as I'm treating a client with PR. I am a Bowen therapist, Occupational therapist, Dorn therapist and recently trained in Core postural Alignment. I have 25 years experience in the NHS as an OT and moved away from conventional healthcare partly because what it has to offer- drugs... is not very helpful for a lot of things. I am very interested in peoples experiences with Bowen and other complementary therapies. As has been said Bowen is not a cure but it can help manage a lot of conditions and make them more bearable and in some instances get rid of symptoms!

    • EileenH
      EileenH sarahmcc51

      Posted

      You did notice this is a couple of years old??? Not sure if Layne is still around.

      Where are you based? Durham NHS Pain Clinic in the NE still offers Bowen, the contract was renewed.

    • sarahmcc51
      sarahmcc51 EileenH

      Posted

      Hi yes I did notice how old the comment was!! only just found this forum and wanted to get some feedback from people who had used Bowen. I was under the impression that the contract for the NHS clinic in Durham had not been reviewed. The lead clinician for Bowen there is head of a well established Bowen school and made it known to fellow practitioners a while back that the NHS had not renewed the contract, don't know why. I am based in Northamptonshire UK.Been practicing Bowen nearly 5 years

       

    • EileenH
      EileenH sarahmcc51

      Posted

      Oh right - it WAS renewed the first time. But the state of the NHS at present I imagine anything felt by the uninitiated to be unnecessary is struggling for finance. I take it you mean Paula Esson? She was my first Bowen practitioner, then Joanne Hewitt. Now I live in northern Italy and although Bowen is available the practitioners can't hold a candle to either of them and I don't feel it is worth the money as it is luxury prices here!

      I'll try starting a thread here asking in a way that shouldn't get hung up in the moderation so keep an eye out. I see you have put one in the Alternative forum - rarely followed by our punters I suspect.

      There is another forum at HealthUnlocked which has a lot of people who used/have used Bowen. There is one quite amusing thread started by a former GP who slated it as "as much use as dancing naked under the moon" which received a LOT of responses from people who appreciate Bowen! I think you would get some feedback there.

      I think it is brilliant when done by the right sort of practitioner - the ones here are a bit airy-fairy and they offer "Klang therapie" (sound therapy?) and Reiki as well.It kept me upright for 5 years - in retrospect I think because it kept the myofascial pain syndrome component under control. I assume you know there does appear to be a connection?

       

    • sarahmcc51
      sarahmcc51 EileenH

      Posted

      Hi Eileen yes I did mean Paula Esson who I only know through her status as principal of ECBS ( Bowen school) not as a Therapist.

      I'd like to think of myself as the Right sort of therapist! coming from a health background gives me legitimacy and I have quite a wealth of knowledge and experience in healthcare. I am having to do some study on PR as it's a new one for me to treat with Bowen. I came across it often in my other life!!

      Pain of any sort can often respond to Bowen but each case is  individual and we must always remember that not everybody will respond. I take the line that after 3 -4 sessions if no improvement has happened even just a bit I will not advocate continuing treatment. I will always refer to other therapists or advise them to seek medical assessment. My current PR client wants to avoid steroids if poss so is trying Bowen 1st- he has it monthly anyway but we are trying weekly sessions from tomorrow for 3-4 wks to see if that helps . How often did you have therapy and for how long?

    • EileenH
      EileenH sarahmcc51

      Posted

      I had 5 years without steroids - not out of choice but because the GP was incapable to identifying PMR without raised blood markers.

      Bowen kept me upright - I needed 2 or 3 sessions every 6 months or so. It won't do anything for the PMR itself, the pain and stiffness is due to an underlying autoimmune disorder and only pred will combat the inflammation, it is systemic not mechanical. It DOES appear to relieve the myofascial pain syndrome part where back muscles spasm - also due to the same cytokines that cause PMR except in PMR they are systemic, in MPS they are localised in the trigger points leading to spasm and irritation of nearby nerves leading to referred pain. Both Bowen and manual mobilisation of these trigger points seem to release the cytokines and can apparently cause a flare of the PMR. 

      I'm sure he does want to avoid steroids - but I have yet to meet someone who starts on the forums saying that who doesn't eventually give in and start pred. I can't see any way that even weekly Bowen will deal long term with PMR - and as you will agree, the cost would be prohibitive.

      PMR lasts anything from 2 to 6 years for 75% of patients. The rest of us take longer. For 5% of us it is a life-time problem. Come the spring it will be 14 years for me. No respite. Except an adequate dose of pred leaves me 98% OK and I have no side effects.

      Have you seen our "Resources" post? Links for useful info about PMR there.

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-website-addresses-and-resources-35316

    • sarahmcc51
      sarahmcc51 EileenH

      Posted

      Thanks for all your advice Eileen I appreciate it. My client comes tomorrow and I will talk with him some more. He is a tough thing and hates to give in. I am not trying to sway him either way re the steroids, that is his decision. I just listen and tell him what I know from my experience and what I read/research. he is also under a private GP who practices Functional medicine.She is treating him with a long course of antibiotics and has put him on a Ketogenic diet he is also borderline diabetic. he has complex issues to which PR is just a part. I think Bowen would just be part of a treatment plan which includes various other things, I would never suggest it is a Cure for PR as it is not! at best I hope it will dampen down some of the pain and stiffness.

      I wil take a look at the resources post and learn a bit more.Thanks

    • EileenH
      EileenH sarahmcc51

      Posted

      I'm really looking forward to hearing more from you - I am very sure that there are a few complementary therapies that, used TOGETHER with pred, could be very valuable. I believe that MPS really is a component of PMR in many patients and anything that will relieve that aspect is going to be of value. Even just referral for an exercise programme would make such a difference.

      My husband has a former colleague from Hungary whose wife developed PMR and pred worked but she claimed she couldn't cope with the side effects. So he, a biochemist I think, got together with her rheumies and they put her on long term antibiotics which brought it into remission. Of course it is impossible to say if it was the abx or just time since PMR generally goes into remission after a few years anyway. And given the problems with abx - is it such a good idea to brandish them at pMR?

      Must be nice to be that rich though!!!!!!!!!

    • linda17563
      linda17563 EileenH

      Posted

      Very interested Eileen to know where is the connection in prescribing abx for PMR? I am really struggling after 6 years in terrible pain and stiffness, Rheumie says I must get off pred (15mg) because after 6 years it can' t be PMR.

      Struggled to a meeting yesterday, arranged by your other group, all PMR 2 years and under. Rheumie says, get to 5mg and we can decide what's wrong!! .......and take paracetamol, it doesn't touch the pain at all😢

    • EileenH
      EileenH linda17563

      Posted

      I don't really know. Some doctors have a theory that it is a bacterial infection, abx do have an antiinflammatory action so maybe there is a bit of both. People do sometimes comment that when they are on abx for an infection their PMR is better but comes back once the course is finished. And in the US and parts of Europe especially there might be an element of undiagnosed Lyme disease - and that is becomming more of an issue in the UK too. 

      But as I say - your rheumy is wrong about it can't be PMR after 6 years. A group in Italy found a third of the patients in a study on methotrexate still needed pred after 6 years. If the rheumies are so keen to accept the results of that study that showed mtx does help to reduce the total dose of pred required - they have also to accept the other findings! And one of the top PMR guys in the UK, Dr Rod Hughes agrees that 5% of patients with PMR have it for far longer, even for life. 

    • linda17563
      linda17563 EileenH

      Posted

      Thank you for that, have been offered physio by doctor, so thinking myofascial pain would get dealt with, now got appointment......mid December!!........I give up.......would pay in meantime........... but would that confuse things, just don' t know......

    • EileenH
      EileenH linda17563

      Posted

      Chertsey, St Peter's NHS hospital and Runymede BMI private hospital. Google him.

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.