SUCCESS STORIES (EHLER'S DANLOS SYNDROME)
This is to share with you my journey & experiences with one of my client whom had a rare genetic disease known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Anyway she is also a Pilates instructor just like myself. She had treatment by chiropractors before to realign her spine & pelvic but it did not seem to work much for her. She has also been called upon by intriguing doctors, specialist & housemanships in a local hospital here for clinical observation where she could possibly be the only patient in Singapore to have such rare known disease.
To define briefly, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is named after two doctors, Edward Ehlers of Denmark, and Henri-Alexandre Danlos of France who identified it at the turn of the 20th century. It is a group of rare genetic disorders affecting humans and animals caused by a defect in collagen synthesis. Depending on the individual mutation, the severity of the disease can vary from mild to life- threatening. There is no known cure. Treatment is supportive. In the past there were more than 10 recognized types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome but a simpler classification has been reduced to six major types.
This client of mine has Type-3 (Hypermobility). It affects 1 in 10 000 to 15 000 and is caused by an autosomal dominant mechanism. Mutations in either of two separate genes (which are also involved in Vascular EDS and Tenascin-X deficiency EDS, respectively) may lead to this variant; it is the only type of EDS that cannot be diagnosed through skin/tissue samples but is rather diagnosed through use of clinical observations.
Symptoms of Type 3 can include 1.easy bruising 2.velvety-smooth skin 3. mildly hyperextensible skin 4. loose unstable joints 5. Joint dislocations and subluxations are common 6. Degenerative joint disease can occur. The pain associated with this condition is a serious complication. This client of mine also have MVP (mitral valve prolapse) which could result mitral regurgitation, infective endocarditis & cardiac arrest. Thus my client often experiences heart palpitations, atrial fibrillation. She also experience chest pain and shortness of breath & fainting spells which could be linked to anxiety which she has always been.
She was skeptical of Bowen therapy at first as it is hardly known here. But somehow I managed to convince her to give it a try especially when she complained to me that recently her right thigh vein bulges and painful when touched.
So during her maiden Bowen session with me, I performed BRM 1(move1-4), BRM 2 (move1-4,8-16), Kidney, Respiratory, Hit the lats & BRM 3. The reason I chose those move because she has a mild scoliosis & a rotated pelvis which is nothing surprising considering the collagen defects on the connective tissues. After performing BRM 1 move 1 – 2, I recalled her body suddenly turn very warm but nothing alarming so far. She seemed to be very sensitive & vocal to the sensations she felt almost every moves & challenges I performed on her. I find it very different & interesting slacking her velvety and extensible skin during those challenges as it can sometimes deviate you from the correct muscle positioning when you need to challenge them. Somehow I trust my gut feeling and the first Bowen session went on smoothly. After several days, she feedback to say that she experienced breathlessness, heart throbbings, felt misaligned & she’s aching all over but felt much looser and lighter overall. I told her not to worry it will go away in 1 or 2 days time & advised her to drink and walk more. Then a few days later she asked for her second Bowen appointment the following week !
On her second visit, I performed lymphatic drainage procedure for her, BRM 1 (1-4), BRM 2 (1-4, 8-16), Kidney, Pelvic, Knee , ‘Hit the lats’ & BRM 3. This is to address the bulging veins on her right thigh, her twisted pelvis & her long standing knee problem.
Then a week later she feedback to say her breathlessness has gradually subsided, the scapula is not in pain anymore, heart-throbbings is still there on and off, her right hip has shifted in place and the pain has gone. However she felt sore in her mid-inner thigh, her left cheekbones stiffen up and sore calves. I advised her to be patient as the pain will wear off sooner or later as the pelvic procedure could take up to ten days to work. Besides her physiological issues, she claimed to feel anger, disappointment, betrayed & depressed as she has been coping with some long standing personal family issues. She said that I had somehow opened up her pandora’s box which has kept inside her for so long. I emphatise with her and I advised her to go with the flow both on the emotional or mental state. Thus those things have indeed resurfaced !
After a week or so, she had her third Bowen session with me. This time I decide to perform the Thoracic procedure on her to consolidate the alignment of her scoliosis as well for her heart-throbbings pattern. I discovered that unlike most of my other clients, she never once fell asleep or feel relaxed after every sessions. In fact everytime I wanted to leave the room she would keep chatting with me as if she does not want me to leave her alone in the room all by herself. Anyway on that session I did leave the room and left the room for 20 minutes after the thoracic procedure. When I returned, I could sense the room is a bit tense and she’s lying there with her eyes wide awake looking up at the ceiling. So I composed myself pretending nothing unusual happen while I helped her out of the bed and chatted with her as usual.
Then the fourth session she personally requested for her right hip to be addressed again and so I did. I performed the pelvic, sacral, knee, hammertoes & bunions. This time I noticed she was more relaxed as I performed those on her. Several days went on and she gave me a surprising news. Her breathlessness has stopped, her sore mid-inner thigh has gone, cheek bones and calf pain are gone too. Best of all after many many years her period came twice that month! This is a miracle for both of us! This has absolutely never happen to her for many years! I was overjoyed especially when two weeks later she told me that her posture has changed for the better. This is truly marvelous!
But she still has to addressed those issues that resurfaced out of her pandora’s box and I hope things will get better for her. Hope she could come back again for more Bowen sessions especially when you are dealing with rare cases like this. I am sure this shall be a great testimonial to my work as a Bowen therapist and thus I hope to share and write more interesting Bowen stories to all my clients and fellow Bowen practitioners all around the world.
To define briefly, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is named after two doctors, Edward Ehlers of Denmark, and Henri-Alexandre Danlos of France who identified it at the turn of the 20th century. It is a group of rare genetic disorders affecting humans and animals caused by a defect in collagen synthesis. Depending on the individual mutation, the severity of the disease can vary from mild to life- threatening. There is no known cure. Treatment is supportive. In the past there were more than 10 recognized types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome but a simpler classification has been reduced to six major types.
This client of mine has Type-3 (Hypermobility). It affects 1 in 10 000 to 15 000 and is caused by an autosomal dominant mechanism. Mutations in either of two separate genes (which are also involved in Vascular EDS and Tenascin-X deficiency EDS, respectively) may lead to this variant; it is the only type of EDS that cannot be diagnosed through skin/tissue samples but is rather diagnosed through use of clinical observations.
Symptoms of Type 3 can include 1.easy bruising 2.velvety-smooth skin 3. mildly hyperextensible skin 4. loose unstable joints 5. Joint dislocations and subluxations are common 6. Degenerative joint disease can occur. The pain associated with this condition is a serious complication. This client of mine also have MVP (mitral valve prolapse) which could result mitral regurgitation, infective endocarditis & cardiac arrest. Thus my client often experiences heart palpitations, atrial fibrillation. She also experience chest pain and shortness of breath & fainting spells which could be linked to anxiety which she has always been.
She was skeptical of Bowen therapy at first as it is hardly known here. But somehow I managed to convince her to give it a try especially when she complained to me that recently her right thigh vein bulges and painful when touched.
So during her maiden Bowen session with me, I performed BRM 1(move1-4), BRM 2 (move1-4,8-16), Kidney, Respiratory, Hit the lats & BRM 3. The reason I chose those move because she has a mild scoliosis & a rotated pelvis which is nothing surprising considering the collagen defects on the connective tissues. After performing BRM 1 move 1 – 2, I recalled her body suddenly turn very warm but nothing alarming so far. She seemed to be very sensitive & vocal to the sensations she felt almost every moves & challenges I performed on her. I find it very different & interesting slacking her velvety and extensible skin during those challenges as it can sometimes deviate you from the correct muscle positioning when you need to challenge them. Somehow I trust my gut feeling and the first Bowen session went on smoothly. After several days, she feedback to say that she experienced breathlessness, heart throbbings, felt misaligned & she’s aching all over but felt much looser and lighter overall. I told her not to worry it will go away in 1 or 2 days time & advised her to drink and walk more. Then a few days later she asked for her second Bowen appointment the following week !
On her second visit, I performed lymphatic drainage procedure for her, BRM 1 (1-4), BRM 2 (1-4, 8-16), Kidney, Pelvic, Knee , ‘Hit the lats’ & BRM 3. This is to address the bulging veins on her right thigh, her twisted pelvis & her long standing knee problem.
Then a week later she feedback to say her breathlessness has gradually subsided, the scapula is not in pain anymore, heart-throbbings is still there on and off, her right hip has shifted in place and the pain has gone. However she felt sore in her mid-inner thigh, her left cheekbones stiffen up and sore calves. I advised her to be patient as the pain will wear off sooner or later as the pelvic procedure could take up to ten days to work. Besides her physiological issues, she claimed to feel anger, disappointment, betrayed & depressed as she has been coping with some long standing personal family issues. She said that I had somehow opened up her pandora’s box which has kept inside her for so long. I emphatise with her and I advised her to go with the flow both on the emotional or mental state. Thus those things have indeed resurfaced !
After a week or so, she had her third Bowen session with me. This time I decide to perform the Thoracic procedure on her to consolidate the alignment of her scoliosis as well for her heart-throbbings pattern. I discovered that unlike most of my other clients, she never once fell asleep or feel relaxed after every sessions. In fact everytime I wanted to leave the room she would keep chatting with me as if she does not want me to leave her alone in the room all by herself. Anyway on that session I did leave the room and left the room for 20 minutes after the thoracic procedure. When I returned, I could sense the room is a bit tense and she’s lying there with her eyes wide awake looking up at the ceiling. So I composed myself pretending nothing unusual happen while I helped her out of the bed and chatted with her as usual.
Then the fourth session she personally requested for her right hip to be addressed again and so I did. I performed the pelvic, sacral, knee, hammertoes & bunions. This time I noticed she was more relaxed as I performed those on her. Several days went on and she gave me a surprising news. Her breathlessness has stopped, her sore mid-inner thigh has gone, cheek bones and calf pain are gone too. Best of all after many many years her period came twice that month! This is a miracle for both of us! This has absolutely never happen to her for many years! I was overjoyed especially when two weeks later she told me that her posture has changed for the better. This is truly marvelous!
But she still has to addressed those issues that resurfaced out of her pandora’s box and I hope things will get better for her. Hope she could come back again for more Bowen sessions especially when you are dealing with rare cases like this. I am sure this shall be a great testimonial to my work as a Bowen therapist and thus I hope to share and write more interesting Bowen stories to all my clients and fellow Bowen practitioners all around the world.
See ya next time mate !
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