In 1988, Amy Norman presented a study of Bowen Therapy’s prevalence and effectiveness at the University of North Carolina – Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Sport Science.
Ten Bowen practitioners from 7 states within the United States participated in the study. Each practitioner distributed a client survey to 5 of their clients. The practitioners and clients provided responses that related to the effectiveness of the Bowen Technique and the results were compared.
The most common treated condition was back pain. The practitioners reported an 85% rate of success in pain reduction or alleviation of the problem. The client data revealed the exact same effectiveness level (85%) with the treatment of the back pain. Both practitioners and clients stated that the relief from back pain was usually received within 4-5 Bowen sessions.
When comparing data for the treatment of stress, anxiety and tension, the practitioners stated the Bowen treatment to be 83% effective, while the client data revealed an 80% effectiveness level. As in the case of back pain treatments, both practitioners and clients found that relief from stress/tension was usually achieved within 4-5 Bowen treatments.
The study found that the condition requiring the most treatments was fibromyalgia with a rate of improvement of 80%. Many practitioners described the treatment for fibromyalgia often required several sessions before pain was alleviated and needing to be repeated at regular intervals.
The client’s data showed that other commonly treated conditions included TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) problems and hip pain, with the average number of session for each being 8 and 7.5 respectively.
The study also showed 88% effectiveness of Bowen treatment for neck pain and 95% effectiveness in reducing pain for the TMJ clients.
