Bowen technique

There is no clear evidence that the technique is a useful medical intervention.

History

Bowen had no formal medical training and described his approach as a "gift from God". 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. He died as an unlicensed practitioner of manual therapy. 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.

Bowen did not document his technique, so its practice after his death has followed one or other differing interpretation of his work. 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. The technique has been popularized by some of the six men who observed him at work, including Oswald Rentsch, an osteopath whose interpretation has become the dominant, but not unchallenged, form. Learning this technique requires 120 hours of instruction, or as little as a weekend workshop.