My name is Brian Dicks. I run the Centre for Natural Pain Management in THe Hague and this is my story.
All my life I had been a keen sportsman and in 1988 I injured my knee. After 18 months of treatment from a physiotherapist and sports doctor I was still unable to run more than two kilometres without pain. A friend recommended I see a massage therapist. After a short series of treatments I was able to begin building up the kilometres. Three months later I was running 10 kilometres without any pain. For me that was it – I decided to study clinical massage and open my own practice.
Several years later, during a massage and bodywork conference, I attended a presentation on the Bowen Technique. I was amazed by the speed and ease in which the presenter could induce visible changes in the muscle tone of those worked on. I immediately signed up for the course. Bowen Technique soon became an integral part of my practice.
I was just as impressed with the results I was seeing with the Bowen Technique in my practice as I was during the presentation at the conference. On many, many occasions muscle tension and pain seemed to just melt away without the need to push deeply into painful tissue. In most of these cases, the improvements achieved were long lasting.
I found that by using Bowen Technique alone or in combination with other techniques the number of treatments my clients needed reduced significantly. The majority of clients noticed definite improvements after one or two treatments and their pain was significantly improved or gone after three to five treatments. For acute conditions one or two treatments was often enough. Naturally, there were some clients with chronic, severe or multiple problems who needed more treatments and a small number did not respond at all.
While working full time as a clinical masseur in Geelong, Australia I met a Dutch lady by the name of Liesje. After a long relationship, she decided that she could not live the rest of her life in Australia. After much soul searching, I decided to close my practice in Australia and immigrate to the Netherlands. I am now in the process of building up a practice in The Hague.
Besides studying the Bowen Technique with two of Tom Bowen's pupils, Kevin Ryan and Ossie Rentsch, I have also completed the following studies:
- "Certificate in Massage" at the Victorian School of Massage, Australia.
- "Certificate of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy" at the Victorian School of Massage, Australia
- "Post-graduate Sports Massage Training Program" at the Sport Massage Training Institute, Costa Mesa, USA
- "Post-graduate Sports Massage Training Program - Orthopaedic Sports Massage - Level One" at the Sport Massage Training Institute, Costa Mesa, USA
- "Myofascial Release Fundamentals" at the Myofascial Release Centre, Australia
- "Myofascial Release Advanced" at the Myofascial Release Centre, Australia
- "Vibromuscular Harmonisation Technique" (VHT) in England. This technique has Bowen Therapy as its basis.
- "Neural Touch" through U.S. Bowen in the United States. This therapy also has Bowen Therapy as its basis, along with several other therapies.
I am currently studying the Emmett Technique, a new therapy from Australia that is getting even more acclaim than the Bowen Technique.
NB: The treatments offered at the Centre for Natural Pain Management are not meant as a replacement for regular medical advice. If you have any doubts over the nature of your condition please contact a medical practitioner.