Little pain but lots of gain
Body Stress Release offers a holistic approach to physical and emotional pain, says CLAIRE SAWERS
Those who have been through something as tortuous and tedious as back-pain all tend to say the same thing; you get to the point where you'll try anything just to make it go away. Some call on the pricey services of chiropractors, osteopaths and Reiki practitioners; others go down the quick-fix path of painkillers and ice packs. A few weeks later, the twinges are back and so are the sleepless nights. Then along comes a treatment called Body Stress Release (BSR) whose fans claim it delivers almost instant results that actually last. It doesn't require painful manipulation, you get to keep your clothes on and with any luck, you'll feel better after your first visit.
It sounds like the miraculous stuff of TV infomercials. And we've all heard those before. BSR is a complementary health technique designed to rid the body of tensions - whether physical or emotional. Considered particularly effective for back and neck pain, the therapy can help a range of problems, from migraines and asthma to panic attacks and diarrhoea. Patients I spoke to in Edinburgh claimed it had worked miraculous wonders on them. From what I could gather, the treatment centred around a slightly strange tapping technique - but could it really work?
I took my knotted shoulders along to Kerry Teakle, Scotland's only BSR practitioner, at a health clinic in the Dean Village, Edinburgh. There were no tie-dye rugs and joss sticks in sight; just a very clinical looking massage table. BSR, explained Teakle, categorises stress into three forms; mechanical (e.g. sports injuries), chemical (certain additives and pollutants) or emotional (relationship worries, shock, depression etc). After a brief Q and A before my treatment, Teakle diagnosed that bad computer posture and a dose of common or garden-variety stress was probably the cause of my sore shoulders, but she was hopeful she could help. BSR, Teakle explained as I got into position on the table, encourages the body to let go of tensions and kick-start its own auto-repair process. I closed my eyes, told my inner cynic to shut up and waited for the miracles to begin.
Teakle began the 'release' by assessing for tensions, using odd but painless jerks to my feet. Once she pinpointed trouble spots, she set about my shoulders and back with some precise prods and tweaks. The sensation was bizarre, although not unpleasant, a bit like someone inexpertly playing piano along my spine. The prodding process went on for about fifteen minutes and varied from very gentle finger tapping on my spine to far more forceful jabs into pressure points along my neck and shoulders. At one point she even used a smooth wooden door handle up and down my vertebrae to ease out kinks. I then flipped over and Teakle massaged my abdomen, a key area in terms of posture and often the root of back pain. The unusual - but not unpleasant - process was rounded off with a series of wiggles and taps around my forehead, temple and jawline, to release any stresses held in the face.
"I am careful what words I use when describing the therapy to new clients," Teakle admits. A key idea behind BSR is after all, "to listen to the body and use it as a biofeedback mechanism in order to encourage self-healing." "Basically, the body is capable of fixing itself, but sometimes needs a helping hand to speed up the process," explains Teakle. She likens the human organism to a network of hosepipes. When functioning at optimum health, muscles are relaxed and signals flow freely from the brain through the central nervous system. When a muscular tension becomes `locked' in the body, it creates a kink in the hosepipe. Messages stop being delivered properly and the person feels pain, numbness or loss of flexibility. Often symptoms are as subtle as lethargy or lowered immunity, but all signs point towards poor health and stress overload, resulting in a life nagged by pain.
My aching shoulders were perhaps not 'chronically' painful but I was intrigued to see if BSR could help. Fifteen minutes in Teakle's capable hands certainly left me more relaxed Scratching my head a little in disbelief, I had to admit my shoulders were a lot suppler, too. I wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but I definitely liked the results.
That was roughly what Joyce Arbuckle, a kitchen design company director from Blackhall, Edinburgh, thought after her first dabble in complementary therapy. She suffered from severe back pain and found simple tasks like brushing her teeth excruciatingly painful. "I admit I was completely sceptical about alternative medicine and that sort of thing," she says. But get her talking about the effect that BSR has had on her life, and suddenly she oozes praise and urges others to give it a try. "To be honest, I get embarrassed recommending it because I can't explain what actually happened I still don't completely understand how it works. I just know it did"
Margaret Anderson, a housewife and carer from Colinton, Edinburgh is another patient of Teakle's. Severe arthritis and two hip replacements left her virtually immobile. "The pain was excruciating and made me weep on may occasions." But after three BSR sessions, Anderson gave up her walking stick. "I am now far less stooped and more upright. Whatever it is doing, BSR is working for me." BSR was developed by South African couple, Ewald and Gail Meggersee in the 1980s. Ewald Meggersee was bothered by severe leg and back pain after falling from a tree as a child Faced with being wheelchairbound in his thirties, Meggersee began training as a chiropractor in America. Ironically, Meggersee's BSR technique contradicts chiropractic manipulation procedures, favouring a far gentler, less intrusive therapy. BSR has gained considerable popularity in South Africa but is still very new to the UK, with only a dozen qualified practitioners in Britain.
As with all holistic treatments, Teakle accompanies BSR with good old-fashioned advice on stress reduction; eating well, cutting out chemicals, sitting up straight, lifting things properly, and most importantly, learning to relax She refers to the idea of wellness - the complementary health buzzword du jour - and advocates good body upkeep all the time, rather than just at times of illness.
Teakle thinks of BSR as an ongoing process rather than miracle cure. Two weeks after my first release, I tell her I have slipped into to my old slouchy habits at the computer, and not surprisingly the aches have returned. It is not an overnight panacea, she tells me. It is more something that encourages patients to address their whole lifestyle. Teakle's comments are more than a simple endorsement of the procedure-they are a personal testimony. She tried BSR herself out of desperation, following two decades of back pain caused by scoliosis. Once a budding ballerina, she was finding it difficult to walk or stand for long periods of time. She underwent inconclusive bone scans and X-rays and gave anything and everything a shot - from conventional physiotherapy and osteopathy to electronic tens back massagers and acupuncture.
After the recommended three introductory 'releases', she was pleasantly surprised when the pain went away and stayed away. Teakle attended a five-month BSR course in South Africa, hoping to sort her long-term back problem out once and for all. She did, and found a new career too. Now approaching her second year of practising, Teakle loves the feeling of satisfaction she gets when BSR brings relief to a patient. The £30 bill for a half hour treatment may cause a twinge in the pocket, but Teakle is confident that it's worth it. My newly unhunched shoulders would tend to agree with her.
Kerry Teakle can be contacted at Medicalternative, tel: 0131 225 5656, or visit www.medicalternative.com. For more information, go to www.bodystressrelease-uk.co.uk.
