Bowen Technique
Twelve years ago Bear, then aged 21 broke his back whilst training with the SAS after his parachute failed to inflate at 16,000 feet. Bear landed on his parachute pack and fractured three vertebrae.
“I should have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but I thought there was enough time to resolve the problem.”
Bear was treated in Surrey, avoiding surgery, he undertook hours of intense physiotherapy, swimming, stretching and ultrasound treatment.
“I was still suffering from twinges and pains.”
Deep massage helped but he always felt physically unbalanced by his injury. A year ago his wife suggested he see a Bowen therapist.
The Bowen technique, developed in the 1950s, involves using rolling movements over the muscles, ligaments and tendons. It is said to send impulses to the brain to trigger the body’s own healing.
Like many whom seek alternative treatments Bear was skeptical. He went to see an East Sussex based Bowen therapist, Sarah Yearsley.
“With the slightest squiggle of her fingers, it felt like petrol was being put back in my tank and I could feel all the stress seeping away. More importantly, after my back accident, my spine and pelvis had lost alignment, so I felt unbalanced.”
The therapist explained that his pelvis was slightly twisted and that this would cause him endless problems without treatment. Bear now attends monthly Bowen appointments and has felt the positive results.
