What Is Animal Bowen Therapy?

Many people benefit from different types of body work, but did you know that animals can also benefit from the same type of body work? I know how frustrating it is to be told that medication or surgery is the only way to help your animal with soft tissue issues, but there are so many less invasive options available.

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Rather than treating just the symptoms which can present risks and side effects, especially when used long term, there are alternative methods of treatment that are much less invasive and effective in helping a variety of conditions.

Where does it come from...?

Animal Bowen Therapy is based on the principles of the Bowen Technique, a successful human bodywork-system named after its developer, Tom Bowen (1916-1982), which was developed in Australia during the 1950’s, and brought to the UK in the early 1990’s.

Tom’s skills were not just experienced by people. He also worked with animals including dogs, cats, cows, pigs, and horses. Indeed, this work has continued and today practitioners are able to train in both Animal and Equine Bowen Therapy.

It's Development

Its adaptation in the UK for use on dogs was started in 2001 by Bowen therapists and dog trainers/behaviourists Sally and Ron Askew, who started on their own dogs, and then, with the cooperation and support of their local vets, integrated their findings into their canine behavioural and rehabilitation work with great success.

Both therapies work the same on animals as they do on humans, but the response is often exhibited in a very natural and non-conscious way. As the animal responds to the treatment given you may see a lot of yawning, stretching, lying down, scratching, rubbing against a wall, the coat may stand up, falling asleep and so on.

Gentle and Non-invasive

The light-touch moves are gentle and involve no hard or prolonged pressure. Bowen Therapy for animals assists injury recovery, promotes good health, and improves mobility. It aims to promote pain-relief, and body/energy rebalancing, enhancing your pet’s wellbeing and quality of life. Animal Bowen Therapy offers the animal a non-invasive and effective hands-on technique that makes use of the body’s innate ability to heal itself at all levels as needed; physically, emotionally & energetically.

The body will respond

Bowen Therapy is a holistic and remedial therapy that involves the rolling of soft tissue over the muscle fiber with the fingers. These movements are performed with very gentle pressure applied directly to specific areas of the body to stimulate the nervous system, which then sends messages to the brain to encourage the body to restore balance and help heal itself. These moves impact the fascia (a type of connective soft tissue rich in nerve receptors), muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, organs, the nervous system, skin, vascular and lymphatic systems in the body.

The endorphins released during Bowen Therapy are natural painkillers and stress fighters of the body and can often account for the enhanced feeling of wellbeing and relaxation experienced by animals (and people) after having Bowen Therapy.

Restorative

When an animal’s body is in a natural healthy state all the cells are performing at an optimum level. When there is a disruption to that natural state, either from injury, buildup of toxins, disease and anxiety the balance within the body is disrupted.

Bowen Therapy is an amazing modality that works by restoring the body’s natural healing process, impacting the body on a cellular level. It helps the body shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance and allows the body to heal. Once this balance is re-established, health and comfort can be achieved.

Fascia

Simplified, Fascia is a complex network of tissue made up of collagen protein chains in a “ground substance”, which can vary in consistency from a more fluid to a more solid state. It forms a continuous network throughout the body, surrounding every cell and joining all body parts together. The body processes are dependent on the movement of fluid through this tissue to cells to receive their hydration, nutrients, hormones, and antibodies, and for the removal of toxic waste products.

Our cells use energy and produce heat when we move during our daily activity or exercise. This movement keeps our tissue moist and flexible. When we are inactive the tissue dries and stiffens, making movement more difficult particularly as we age. Injuries or arthritis can make movement painful, and tissue binds together while muscle starts to wither. This results in a downward spiral of decreasing mobility. If you don’t use it, you lose it!

Bowen therapy helps to rehydrate the fascia, resulting in a more mobile animal. Blockages are freed; reconnections are made. Adhesions within the fibres in the fascia are released and the affected area can become more hydrated. This assists the structures housed within the fascia to function more effectively. Improved function in these structures leads to a better level of general health and decreased levels of pain. There are close correlations between the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Bowen. It is a physical and an energetic treatment due to influencing the meridians and acupuncture points when treating specific areas on the animal’s body, relieving pain and improving the flow of energy through the fascia network to the body systems.

Compensatory Patterns

The key principles are based on all parts of the body functioning together. Just like humans, animals can experience strains, sore muscles, discomfort, and reduced movement. As with people, when an animal has an injury, illness or has experienced trauma, the body begins to develop compensatory patterns of use to avoid further discomfort or pain. If one part of the body is restricted, the rest of the body must adapt & compensate for this, eventually leading to inflammation, pain & discomfort, restriction in movement, stiffness and other poor health conditions partially created through imbalance. In addition, sometimes behavioural issues (such as your dog being snappy or defensive around other dogs/people) can often be a sign of pain or discomfort.

Supporting the natural healing process

One of the major principles of Animal Bowen Technique – indeed any complementary therapy, human or animal – is that it is holistic. In other words, it “treats the body as a whole, without referral to named disease”. We do not treat the veterinary-diagnosed disease or condition per se, but treat the animal, as they see it, on the day.

For example, although a pet may be brought with a condition such as rear-leg lameness, we will also treat other parts of the body as well, including the back, neck, and front-legs, in order to address other possible problem areas caused as a result of the animal compensating for the presenting condition. In this case your pet may well have tried to shift its weight forward in order to relieve the pain in the rear- legs, but this, in turn, will affect the carriage of the head and neck, and require the front-legs to carry more load. It could also be the case that the hind limb lameness is actually a symptom of another area, of primary disfunction, perhaps a sore back, or sacroiliac joint pain. Instead of only addressing the symptom, we treat the whole animal, treating the primary and secondary issues all in one session. It can resolve problems that were not initially evident to the owner or the prime reason for seeking treatment in the first place. It is also useful in addressing compensatory strain in muscles that are having to do more of their share of the work during the period of recovery from injury or surgery. By addressing these other areas, we are maximising the animals’ attempts to return its body to proper balance.

The most important point to remember is that Animal Bowen Therapy is a safe, gentle complementary therapy. Animal Bowen never diagnoses nor interferes with prescribed medication. Bowen Therapy is not a substitute/replacement for normal veterinary care, but rather is complementary to it.
My goal is for your pet to feel their best and be able to live their lives to the fullest potential!