{{short description|Alternative type of physical manipulation}} {{For|the sheep shearing technique|Sheep shearing}} {{Alternative medicine sidebar |fringe}} The '''Bowen technique''' (or Bowen therapy) is an [[Alternative medicine|alternative]] type of [[physical manipulation]] named after Australian Thomas Ambrose Bowen (Tom Bowen) (1916–1982).
There is no clear evidence that the technique is a useful medical intervention.<ref name=aus17/>
== History == Bowen had no formal medical training<ref name = Walsh>{{cite journal |last=Walsh |first=Nancy |title=Touch therapy may thaw frozen shoulder (Small Study of Bowen Technique) |journal=Family Practice News |year=2002 |issue=15}}</ref> and described his approach as a "gift from God".<ref name = Dummies>{{cite book | last = Young | first = J | title = Complementary Medicine For Dummies | isbn = 978-0-470-02625-0 | year = 2007 | publisher = [[For Dummies]] | pages = [https://books.google.com/books?id=LH2gD6eQnZAC&pg=PA257 257–8] }}</ref> He referred to himself as an [[osteopath]] and tried to join the Australian register of osteopaths in 1981 but did not qualify for the title.<ref>{{cite news | last = Matthews | first = K | date = 1999-04-03 | title = Healing Hands - About Tom Bowen | work = [[Geelong Advertiser]] }}</ref> He died as an unlicensed practitioner of manual therapy.<ref name=rev/> In 1973 Bowen himself had referred to his ability to "average 65 patients per day", yet the technique as it is commonly practiced today is unlikely to achieve that volume.<ref name=rev/>
Bowen did not document his technique, so its practice after his death has followed one or other differing interpretation of his work.<ref name=rev>{{cite journal |url=http://www.bowenseminars.com.au/bowen-therapy-a-review-of-the-profession/ |title=Bowen Therapy: a review of the profession |first=Katrina |last=Pennington |journal=Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society |volume=18 |issue=4 |year=2012 |page=217}}</ref> It was not until some years after his death that the term "Bowen Technique" was coined. The technique goes by a wide variety of other names, including Smart Bowen, Fascial Kinetics, Integrated Bowen Therapy, Neurostructural Integration Technique (NST), Fascial Bowen, and Bowenwork.<ref name=rev/> The technique has been popularized by some of the six men who observed him at work, including Oswald Rentsch, an osteopath<ref>{{cite book|last=Shealy|first=C. Norman|title=The complete family guide to alternative medicine: an illustrated encyclopedia of natural healing|year=1996|publisher=Barnes Noble Books|isbn=978-0760702390|page=47|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=m_WQmSXcFFYC&q=oswald+rentsch+osteopath|quote=In 1974 he invited osteopath and manual therapist Oswald Rentsch to study and document the method.}}</ref> whose interpretation has become the dominant, but not unchallenged, form.<ref name=rev/> Learning this technique requires 120 hours of instruction,<ref name = Knaster>{{cite book | pages = [https://books.google.com/books?id=zLdAGUCyHGwC&pg=PT338 338–41] | publisher = [[Random House]] | year = 1996 | title = Discovering the Body's Wisdom | first = M | last = Knaster | chapter = Bowen Technique | isbn = 0553373277 }}</ref> or as little as a weekend workshop.<ref name=weekend>{{cite journal |last=Clarke|first=Stephen|title=A Textbook of Bowen Technique (''Book review'')|journal=Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society|volume=18|issue=4|year=2012|page=245 |url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=950662435332713;res=IELHEA}}</ref>
==Method== Recipients are generally fully clothed. Each session typically involves gentle rolling motions across the [[Human musculoskeletal system|muscles]], [[tendon]]s, and [[fascia]].<ref>Bowen Unravelled, A journey into the Fascial Understanding of The Bowen Technique, Lotus Publishing, 2013 {{ISBN|978-1-58394-765-4}}</ref> The therapy's distinctive features are the minimal nature of the physical intervention and pauses incorporated in the treatment.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.eujim.2012.07.919|title=General features and quality of Bowen therapy|year=2012|last1=Andrea|first1=Kargel-Schwanhaeusser|journal=European Journal of Integrative Medicine|volume=4|pages=189}}</ref> Proponents claim these pauses allow the body to "reset" itself.<ref name=Dummies/>
== Effectiveness == In 2015, the [[Department of Health (Australia)|Australian Government's Department of Health]] published the results of a review of alternative therapies that sought to determine if any were suitable for being covered by [[health insurance]]; Bowen Technique was one of 17 therapies evaluated for which no clear evidence of effectiveness was found.<ref name=aus17>{{cite web |url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/0E9129B3574FCA53CA257BF0001ACD11/$File/Natural%20Therapies%20Overview%20Report%20Final%20with%20copyright%2011%20March.pdf |publisher=Australian Government – Department of Health |author=Baggoley C |title=Review of the Australian Government Rebate on Natural Therapies for Private Health Insurance |year=2015 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626024750/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/0E9129B3574FCA53CA257BF0001ACD11/$File/Natural%20Therapies%20Overview%20Report%20Final%20with%20copyright%2011%20March.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2016}} *{{lay source |template=cite web |author=Gavura, S. |date=19 November 2015 |title=Australian review finds no benefit to 17 natural therapies |url=https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/australian-review-finds-no-benefit-to-17-natural-therapies |website=Science-Based Medicine}}</ref> [[Quackwatch]] includes "Neuro-Structural Integration Technique (Bowen Therapy)" in its list of "questionable treatments."<ref name=qw>{{cite web |url=http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/treatmentindex.html |publisher=[[Quackwatch]] |access-date=4 August 2016 |title=Index of Questionable Treatments}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Massage types}} {{alternative medicine}}
[[Category:Alternative medicine]] [[Category:Manual therapy]] [[Category:Massage therapy]]