Body Stress Release

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BSR In The Media

• 120 million working days were lost to back pain
• Journalist experiences body stress release
• Stress and strains of life

120 MILLION WORKING DAYS WERE LOST TO BACK PAIN

Almost 120 million working days were lost to back pain in the past certified year, with a cost of over £6 billion to industry in lost production and £480 million to the National Health Service.


Sixty per cent of adults get it and half of those turn into chronic sufferers. Having a bad back is often something you have to live with.
I hurt mine in a drunken episode as a student at the age of 18 and thought nothing more about it.
Then one day as I was out shopping my back suddenly went 'ping' and I spent two weeks horizontal on the sofa tortured by daytime television.
It's never been the same since. Hard chairs and soft sofas where my legs dangle over the sides are the worst.
So when a letter arrived on my desk offering a chance to experience "body stress release" at the healing hands of South African Paul Masureik I agreed
- I certainly had nothing to lose.
One day later I found myself nervously chatting away to Paul in his comfortable Lightwater home.
"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt and you get to keep your clothes on," he reassured me as he quizzed me on my medical history.
I signed my rights away in a disclosure form and stepped up to the large padded treatment table. He slowly lowered me, face down on the couch, until I was lying on the rack.
Then began the most bizarre treatment I have ever had for my back problems, and believe me I have had a few.
According to the blurb the series of gentle shoves Paul performed on my arm and back were pressure tests to locate locked-in body stress.


Body Stress Release originated in South Africa where Paul studied for five months before setting up his practice over here, and works by stimulating the muscles of the back by stroking and pressing.
"Your feet are talking to me, Heather," he said as he measured my individual response to the pressure tests.
If a muscle is stressed and contains a lot of tension the leg on the same side shortens. Apparently my feet had a lot to say!
It is quite hard not to be sceptical when you are lying face down on a padded couch in a strange man's living room but I came with an open mind.
Four treatments later I was convinced. Strangely, bizarrely, it did work for me.
At first it was hard to notice. The brain can play tricks and while pain is hard to ignore when you feel comfortable, you just get on with life.


Paul is only one of seven therapists (March 2000) practicing in this country. He even travels to Kent to have the same treatment for a painful shoulder.
"I am really keen to work together with a local GP to help patients who cannot get relief from their back pain," said Paul.
He has built up a practice of about 100 patients since completing his training 18 months ago.

Denise Hesse, who lives in Windlesham and works at an estate agency, suffered from migraines for years before going to see Paul.
She said: "I suffered from awful migraines and had to spend days in bed ill. I have tried acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage, my GP and got absolutely nowhere. After a few visits to Paul I felt a real difference and now I hardly ever get one.
"He really helped me when no-one else could and I can't thank him enough. I still go a couple of times a year just to make sure the headaches don't return."
Body Stress Release is just one of many complementary therapies on offer to soothe an aching back or revive tired muscles.

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JOURNALIST EXPERIENCES BODY STRESS RELEASE

I feel thoroughly stupid as I sit in the reception of the Neal's Yard Remedies Therapy Rooms in London. This is because Body Stress Release (BSR), the treatment for which I am waiting, seems plain dotty. I have been told that all it involves is being tapped until the stresses and strains in my body have been tapped away.
Apparently. one woman left feeling so relaxed that she went home and slept for 12 hours. But as an alternative therapy cynic, I find this all rather dubious - surely this is just a chance for the stress releasers to make a quick buck?

BSR was created 22 years ago by Ewald and Gail Meggersee, a South African couple desperate to find a treatment for the constant pain Ewald suffered after falling out of a tree as a child.

For years, he suffered from severe cramping and shooting pains in his lower back and legs, and once, he woke up temporarily paralysed from the waist down. He found only temporary relief from chiropractic treatments.
Whilst trying to discover something that would reverse his condition, they stumbled across research by Dr Richard Van Rumpt, a retired American chiropractor who had explored an approach to pain relief that differed from conventional chiropractic manipulation.

Van Rumpt talked of "listening" to the body - using it as a "biofeedback monitor" that would tell a practitioner what was wrong and then heal itself.
The Meggersees built on this method and cam up with BSR, which seemed to rid Ewald of his pain.

"Muscles adopt a deffence mechanism when they have gone into tension, so when you apply just a little bit of pressure to one of them, you're going to get a reaction. Normally, it manifests itself as the temporary shortening of one leg," explains Peter Van Minnen, one of only 12 BSR practitioners in Britain. "So, to start with, I will tap the various muscle groups - if there is tension in any of them, I will know, because a leg will shorten."
Van Minnen taps at the stressed areas to release tension. He says that light pressure is enough to remind your body to heal. "You have to trust your body - it knows best and will mend itself when reminded." Unlike conventional bodywork, the pressure applied is very light and you do not have to take off any clothes. It is also relatively quick, taking about 20 minutes at most.
Twenty minutes is all it took to rid me of both my scepticism and a couple of ailments. Before the treatment, I had severe breathlessness, but after a few taps on my diaphragm, it had gone; my lower back pain, a consequence of sitting hunched over my desk all week, had also disappeared by the end of the treatment. I then had to drink two strong coffees to stop me from going home and sleeping for 12 hours.

Bryony Gordon

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STRESS AND STRAINS OF LIFE

THE STRESS and strains of everyday life are too often overlooked.
Work and relationships are two of the pressures which, when ignored, can have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing and health.
Low esteem, tiredness, headaches and back pain - we all experience them sometime in life.
Born with a tendency to carry the world on my shoulders, anything which can help is welcome news and I was keen to try out body stress release.

Experts claim the technique, which applies gentle stimulation, encourages the body to release stored tension. Used to treat accident injuries and emotional and chemical stress, it is suitable for people of all ages.

Paul Masureik runs his own practice in Lightwater. He says the treatment, developed in South Africa, is different from conventional manipulation therapy.


"You don't have to work the body vigorously to get what you want to achieve," he explained. "By stroking and pressing I can work on any part of the body. This then encourages communication of the body (nervous system) and releases muscle tension which lets the body heal itself."
Before the treatment started I was asked to stand on a couch and was then lowered into the lying position. Fortunately, it does not require stripping off so there is no embarrassment.
By pressing along the muscle on my arms and back, Paul detected areas of locked-in body stress. Apparently the muscles in one leg often shortens indicating which side and direction the tension lies. Paul then presses down on the tender areas to ease the stress.

He said: "The pressure relieves the tension. The amount of treatments required depends on each person and how the body responds. If the stress has occured recently the process of releasing it is usually very rapid, but if it has been there a long time it may have to be carried out a number of times over a period."

Paul generally sees people four to five time initially and then every three to four months.
"It's like a car having a service," he said. "A maintenance programme which keeps the body relatively stress free. It can reduce or stop the ongoing problems."

The second session definitely eased my shoulders and neck. That night I felt relaxed and not as crotchety as I had done earlier in the week.

Paul recommended a few more releases to resolve tension in the lower cervicals. He has also advised lifestyle changes: exercises, improved posture and adjusting my seat level and mouse at work.

Two weeks on and the tight knots in my shoulders and the back of my neck are in need of more attention. I cannot say for sure that this is a miracle cure but I will definitely return.
If combined with exercise and other forms of relaxation, body stress release is a positive step towards feeling healthier and happier.

At £30 a release it comes at a price but then so do most things in life.

Travel executive Cathy Longhurst finds body
stress release effective after long flights.

Cathy's Story

Cathy Longhurst, 42, works and lives in Farnham. She has been visiting Paul for four years for treatment to her back and shoulder after a friend recommended him.
For her body stress release is a way of alleviating pain. She said: "Whatever it is he always sorts me out. I just know it works. It's great. I've had physio before but prefer the more gentle approach."
The busy travel executive visits Paul from time to time.
"When I've been on a long flight my back is not that good so I often go for two or three sessions. I've also had treatment for my shoulder, probably caused by talking with the phone resting on it. Nowadays I use a hands free set."

Jeff's Story

Jeff Bathhurst, of Sandy Lane, Farnborough, is also a great believer in body stress release for his head and shoulders.
The 57- year old says he is susceptible to stress. Sustained use of a computer has also aggravated his problems.
He said: "I'd tried various treatments but none worked at all so I went along to see what it was like. The first Time I was quite surprised at how shattering it was. But I find it very good. My whole back is much better now. You can feel the muscles are not nearly as tight as they were before. I feel a lot more relaxed too."

Rebecca Chard
Journalist.

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Back to Body Stress Release

WHAT HAPPENS DURING A BSR SESSION | WHAT WILL BSR DO FOR ME | ABOUT BSR | HOW DID BSR EVOLVE
CASE HISTORIES | DAVIE & MARIEL'S CONNECTION TO BSR | BSR IN THE MEDIA | LOCATE A BSR PRACTITIONER