How Bowen Therapy Alleviates Stress Headaches

On Average, 42% of women and 36% of men will suffer from stress/tension headaches at some stage of their lives. This type of headache manifests as a high-pressure band constricting around the head. It is also associated with pressure at the back of the neck and head and on the temples. The headache is usually caused by emotional or physical stress.

1. With emotional stress, the body’s flight or fight response is triggered. This increases adrenaline which, in turn, reduces endorphin levels that cause the contraction of muscles in the scalp and neck.

2. Physical stress is caused by poor posture and muscle tension.
Bowen Therapy is increasingly becoming an alternative healing therapy to fight stress and tension headaches. By calming the nervous system, Bowen Therapy effectively combats the body’s flight or fight mode. It assesses postural alignment affected by physical stress and helps to realign the body.

With Bowen Therapy, practitioners use their thumbs and fingers to create a wave-like rolling motion that sweeps across the soft tissue areas of the body. This form of pressure point healing relieves tension and reduces stress. It is particularly effective on taut muscles in the neck and shoulders and at the back of the head.

These tension headaches are associated with a sensation that a clamp has been tightened around the forehead. This is accompanied by a dull and throbbing headache. While some people will find relief with over-the-counter medication, chronic sufferers can avoid opioids and rid themselves of this unpleasant pain with Bowen Therapy.

Stress accounts for a huge loss of man-hours and lost working days. This is a worldwide phenomenon, with stress resulting in the loss of nearly 12 million working days and 37% of work-related illnesses in the UK in 2016. If left untreated, stress can cause heart disease, inflammation, intestinal complications, compromised immune system and mental health problems. Mental and physical stress trigger lethargy, fatigue, mood swings, interrupted sleep patterns and sore and stiff muscles.

While humans need a certain amount of stress to remain active, alert and motivated, too much tension prevents our bodies from working at their optimum level. Negative consequences are the result of too much stress. With the Bowen Therapy technique, patients can turn that negativity into a positive result – one that will free them of tension build-up and debilitating stress headaches. There are dozens of Bowen Therapy practitioners situated throughout South Africa.

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Researchers of sports injuries have found that damaged areas of the body become inflamed, causing oedema which is an accumulation of fluid in the areas of the connective tissue. Blood vessels become constricted, hampering the flow of plasma-rich oxygen and blood cells to the injured site. This results in oxygen starvation of the cells and tissues around the site of the injury, impeding the body’s ability to self-heal. In more severe cases, cells and tissues can die off. Clinical studies of HBOT have found it to be effective in the treatment of sports injuries such as:
• Ankle Sprains
• Damaged muscles
• Fractures
• Tendinitis

Interestingly, today HBOT is also being studied as a treatment remedy of concussion. A concussion, which is a mild form of traumatic injury to the brain, has become commonplace in the competitive sports arena. The brain tissue becomes bruised after a jolt or blow to the head. This causes brain tissue to become swollen. HBOT has been found to treat these symptoms with good results.

Researchers point out that HBOT increases the delivery of oxygen to the brain by two-to-three times. The technique reduces inflammation and pressure on the brain, promoting effective and rapid healing of the head trauma.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is available throughout South Africa but prospective clients are urged to obtain a medical opinion before registering for this type of treatment. While HBOT is widely regarded as a safe technique, there are threats of side effects, particularly in people who suffer from high blood pressure or cardiac disease.

The cost of an HBOT treatment differs from one practitioner to another but a ball-park figure is around R550 for one session dropping down to R400 if the patient undergoes 20 sessions. Sessions take about one hour and can be administered in isolation.

HBOT is constantly under the microscope as researchers investigate its many promising non-intrusive healing attributes. These offer highly competitive athletes a quick, effective and safe alternative to treating their injuries. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a technique which increases the amount of oxygen in the blood. This increased level of oxygen in the bloodstream restores, heals and fights infections of body tissue.