Body work (alternative medicine)
Encyclopedia
Bodywork is a term used in alternative medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....

 to describe any therapeutic or personal development
Personal development
Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...

 technique that involves working with the human body
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...

 in a form involving manipulative therapy
Manual therapy
Manual therapy, manipulative therapy, or manual & manipulative therapy is a physical treatment primarily used by physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it most commonly includes massage therapy, joint mobilization and joint...

, breath work
Breathwork
Breathwork refers to many forms of conscious alteration of breathing, such as connecting the inhale and exhale, or energetically charging and discharging, when used within psychotherapy or meditation. Proponents believe breathwork technique may be used to attain alternate states of consciousness,...

, or energy medicine
Energy medicine
Energy medicine is one of five domains of "complementary and alternative medicine" identified by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States...

. In addition bodywork techniques aim to assess or improve posture
Posture and occupational health
Poor posture is the posture that results from certain muscles tightening up or shortening while others lengthen and become weak which often occurs as a result of one’s daily activities. There are different factors which can impact on posture and they include occupational activities and...

, promote awareness of the "mind-body connection", or to manipulate a putative "energy field" surrounding the human body and affecting health.

Forms

Some of the best known forms of consciousness non-touch bodywork methods include: Reiki
Reiki
is a spiritual practice developed in 1922 by Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui. The teaching was continued and adapted by various teachers. It uses a technique commonly called palm healing as a form of complementary and alternative medicine and is sometimes classified as oriental medicine by some...

, Yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

, Pranayama
Pranayama
Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...

, as well as other non-touch methods: Breathwork
Breathwork
Breathwork refers to many forms of conscious alteration of breathing, such as connecting the inhale and exhale, or energetically charging and discharging, when used within psychotherapy or meditation. Proponents believe breathwork technique may be used to attain alternate states of consciousness,...

 respiration techniques, Therapeutic touch
Therapeutic touch
Therapeutic touch , also known as Non-Contact Therapeutic Touch , is an energy therapy which practitioners claim promotes healing and reduces pain and anxiety. Practitioners of therapeutic touch state that by placing their hands on, or near, a patient, they are able to detect and manipulate the...

, Bates method
Bates Method
The Bates method is an alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care physician William Horatio Bates attributed nearly all sight problems to habitual strain of the eyes, and felt that glasses were harmful and never necessary...

 for sight training, Qigong
Qigong
Qigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...

, and T'ai chi.

The better known forms of manipulative bodywork include Alexander technique
Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique teaches the ability to improve physical postural habits, particularly those that have become ingrained and conditioned responses...

, Applied Kinesiology
Applied kinesiology
Applied kinesiology is an alternative medicine method used for diagnosis and determination of therapy. According to practitioners using Applied Kinesiology techniques, it provides feedback on the functional status of the body. AK is a practice within the realm of alternative medicine and is...

, Bioenergetics
Bioenergetics
Bioenergetics is the subject of a field of biochemistry that concerns energy flow through living systems. This is an active area of biological research that includes the study of thousands of different cellular processes such as cellular respiration and the many other metabolic processes that can...

, Bowen technique
Bowen technique
The Bowen technique or Bowen therapy is a term used to describe a variety of therapies based on the work of the Australian layman Tom Bowen, and was later taught to others by his students Oswald and Elaine Rentsch. The practitioner lightly rolls across different muscle groups, with two minute...

, Chiropractic
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...

, Feldenkrais method
Feldenkrais method
The Feldenkrais Method is a somatic educational system designed by Moshé Feldenkrais . The Feldenkrais method aims to improve movement repertoire, aiming to expand and refine the use of the self through awareness, in order to reduce pain or limitations in movement, and promote general well-being...

, Polarity therapy
Polarity therapy
Polarity therapy is an alternative energy medicine system developed in the 1940s by Doctor Randolph Stone. It proposes that health benefits can be achieved through manipulation of complementary forces, a form of energy currently unknown to science...

, Postural Integration (PI)
Postural Integration (PI)
Postural Integration is an alternative process-oriented, body based therapy originally developed in the late 1960s by in California, USA, after many years of self-exploration in the fields of humanistic psychology and the human potential movement...

, Reflexology
Reflexology
Reflexology, or zone therapy, is an alternative medicine involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion...

, Rolfing
Rolfing
Rolfing is a therapy system created by The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration and is a system whereby the alleged manipulation of the fasciae by specific methods is theorized to yield therapeutic benefit....

, Shiatsu
Shiatsu
Shiatsu is Japanese for "finger pressure;" it is a type of alternative medicine consisting of finger and palm pressure, stretches, and other massage techniques. There is no scientific evidence proving that shiatsu can treat any disease, but shiatsu practitioners promote it as a way to help people...

, Structural Integration, Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing is a form of therapy aimed at relieving and resolving the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental and physical trauma-related health problems by focusing on the client’s perceived body sensations . It was introduced in Dr. Peter Levine's 1997 book Waking...

, Trager Approach
Trager Approach
The Trager Approach is a mind-body approach to movement education. It is a system of gentle, rhythmic movement and touch aimed at facilitating deep relaxation, increased physical mobility, and promoting the body's optimal performance....

.

Massage

One form of bodywork is deep tissue massage therapy, and the terms massage and bodywork are often used interchangeably. While bodywork includes all forms of massage techniques, it also includes many other types of touch therapies.

Popularity of bodywork in the U.S.A.

According to a 2002 survey of adults in the United States by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the National Center for Health Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics is a division of the United States federal agency the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . As such, NCHS is under the United States Department of Health and Human Services...

 (NCHS):
  • Acupuncture
    Acupuncture
    Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....

     was used by 4.0% of the population, with 1.1% having used it in the last year.
  • Chiropractic
    Chiropractic
    Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...

     was used by 19.9% of the population, with 7.5% having used it in the last year.
  • Deep breathing exercises were used by 14.6% of the population, with 11.6% having used the technique in the last year.
  • Yoga
    Yoga
    Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

     was used by 7.5% of the population, with 5.1% having used it in the last year.
  • T'ai chi was used by 2.5% of the population, with 1.3% having used it in the last year.
  • Qigong
    Qigong
    Qigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...

     was used by 0.5% of the population, with 0.3% having used it in the last year.
  • Energy healing
    Energy medicine
    Energy medicine is one of five domains of "complementary and alternative medicine" identified by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States...

     and reiki
    Reiki
    is a spiritual practice developed in 1922 by Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui. The teaching was continued and adapted by various teachers. It uses a technique commonly called palm healing as a form of complementary and alternative medicine and is sometimes classified as oriental medicine by some...

    were used by 1.1% of the population, with 0.5% having used it in the last year.

External links

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