Charlotte Maguire - Bowen Therapy
Wells RFC employs Charlotte Maguire to treat injured players within the Senior Section.
Charlotte uses Bowen Therapy as a means of treatment and has been used by the club over the past year. Charlotte's aim is to get the injured play back playing as soon as possible, something she has been successful in achieving.
The club recommends all member with any condition that requires treatment to contact Charlotte to arrange a session(s).
Full details of how Bowen Therapy works can be found below,
Profile/ background
Born in Somerset, Charlotte decided to pursue her interest in Bowen Therapy after experiencing the effects it had on both her and her horses. She became a Qualified Human Bowen Therapist in 2007 quickly establishing a diverse and satisfied client base. Charlotte likes to keep up to date with new discoveries within her field of work by participating in CPD days such as Anatomy talks and dissections. Charlotte is also aiming to be a qualified Equine Bowen Therapist from January 2009.
Bowen Therapy is a gentle, non intrusive remedial treatment whereby specific muscles, ligaments, and tendons are worked over by the practitioner to promote healing, pain relief and physical realignment. Bowen is not a form of massage.
The practitioner uses thumb and finger pressure making rolling type moves in order to disturb the muscle, ligament or tendon. By doing this the practitioner sends a message to the brain in the form of vibrations/piezoelectric impulses through the fascia layer and the surrounding muscle tissue including internal organs, and the entire central nervous system. The brain then responds sending out neurological messages to help the body resume normal function, both external and internal.
A Bowen practitioner will work over the whole body as the area of pain may not necessarily be the cause of the problem; you may experience back pain due to a pelvic tilt caused by short hamstrings.
The treatment itself involves periods of rest between moves made by the practitioner. These periods of rest allows the brain to process the messages given by the practitioner and allows the body to begin responding immediately.
Even though Bowen moves are performed on the exterior of the body, the work does have an effect on all internal systems i.e. digestive, respiratory, circulatory, reproductive and so on. Bowen encourages these systems to resume normal function. By being able to treat both external and internal structure, Bowen is able to enhance energy levels and a sense of wellbeing.
Bowen encourages the body to heal itself by stimulating the nerve endings, increasing blood flow around the body and to specific areas, and increases the movement of lymph around the body; the lymphatic system removes toxins held within the body.
“First Aid” type Bowen can be given i.e. in cases of asthma attacks or sports injuries during a match/competition, these should ideally be followed up by a full treatment a few days post injury.
Bowen is also used as prevention for injuries and can enhance sport performance.
Bowen Therapy within sport
‘The Bowen Technique’ has proved to be very effective for sports professionals as it increases flexibility and movement range and aids a higher level of performance. Bowen is able to recorrect tissue memory within the body, and therefore can speed up recovery time and create a new memory pattern to allow the body to deal with any future injuries in a more effective and efficient way.
This is achievable for old and new injuries, however old injuries may take longer to correct as the tissue memory is more profoundly set within the body. By treating the whole body to create a full body realignment you are able to stabilise the body by minimising structural compensations i.e. dropping the position of the left shoulder to compensate for a raised left hip (caudal pelvic tilt) or vice versa. In doing this you create a body that is balanced that can cope more effectively under pressure, can build up core strength more efficiently and become more flexible; allowing an increase in stride length which can increase speed and stamina or kicking distance/accuracy and so on. To see a significant improvement in performance level, regular treatment is required. When exercising/training, it is very important to work the whole of the body evenly to minimise the need for structural compensation.
Bowen is a very effective treatment that can be used on people of all ages.
After Care Advice
The 3 W’s – Water, Walk and Week
Water is essential for good health. Bowen increases the blood supply to the nerve endings and affects the movement of lymph around the body; the effective functioning of these systems relies entirely on water. Aim to drink 2 litres a day. A common reaction to Bowen is headaches as this is the most common symptom of dehydration. Water should be taken in small quantities; regular sips will have a dramatic effect. Tea, coffee, fruit juice, squash, herbal teas do not count as water.
Walking as with water assists the movement of lymph around the body to remove toxins. On day of treatment, you must not sit down for more than half an hour without standing and moving around i.e. walk around the room for a few seconds. Standing regularly prevents stiffness and soreness and in doing so ‘resets’ the work. However, you must not play physically demanding sports for 24hrs after a full treatment i.e. rugby/football match or physical training/exercise.
A week or 5-10 days is the recommended time to leave between treatments in order to allow the body to respond before a re assessment. However there are cases that need repeat treatments within the week period, these are: re injury to the problem area or another part of the body, pre and post surgery, persons who are immobilized in bed or in a wheelchair, pregnancy, palliative care, stroke victims or any form of brain damage.
