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alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and al ...
, bodywork is any therapeutic or
personal development Personal development or self improvement consists of activities that develop a person's capabilities and potential, build human capital, facilitate employability, and enhance quality of life and the realization of dreams and aspirations. Person ...
technique that involves working with the
human body The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a hea ...
in a form involving
manipulative therapy Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by physical therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it mostly includes kneading and manipulation of mus ...
, breath work, or energy medicine. Bodywork techniques also aim to assess or improve posture, promote
awareness Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some in ...
of the " bodymind connection" which is an approach that sees the human body and mind as a single integrated unit, or to manipulate the
electromagnetic field An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical ...
alleged to surround the human body and affect health.


Forms

Some of the best known forms of non-touch bodywork methods include:
reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a " universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the ...
,
yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
,
pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''s ...
, as well as other non-touch methods:
breathwork Breathwork is a New Age term for various breathing practices in which the conscious control of breathing is said to influence a person's mental, emotional or physical state, with a claimed therapeutic effect. There is limited evidence that breathw ...
respiration techniques,
therapeutic touch Therapeutic touch (commonly shortened to "TT"), known by some as "non-contact therapeutic touch" (NCTT), is a pseudoscientific energy therapy which practitioners claim promotes healing and reduces pain and anxiety. "Therapeutic Touch" is a regi ...
, the
Bates method The Bates method is an ineffective and potentially dangerous alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care physician William Horatio Bates (1860–1931) held the erroneous belief that the extraocular muscles effected changes i ...
for sight training,
qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
, and
t'ai chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...
. The better known forms of manipulative bodywork include the
Bowen technique The Bowen technique (or Bowen therapy) is an alternative type of physical manipulation named after Australian Thomas Ambrose Bowen (Tom Bowen) (1916–1982). There is no clear evidence that the technique is a useful medical intervention. His ...
, chiropractic,
reflexology Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...
, Rolfing, postural integration, shiatsu, and the Trager approach. There are also some methods that use light touch (not tissue work) to retrain movement patterns or shift awareness of the body, including the Alexander technique, the Feldenkrais method, the Hakomi method,
integrative body psychotherapy Body psychotherapy, also called body-oriented psychotherapy, is an approach to psychotherapy which applies basic principles of somatic psychology. It originated in the work of Pierre Janet, Sigmund Freud and particularly Wilhelm Reich who developed ...
,
craniosacral therapy Craniosacral therapy (CST) or cranial osteopathy is a form of alternative therapy that uses gentle touch to palpate the synarthrodial joints of the cranium. CST is a pseudoscience and its practice has been characterized as quackery. It is bas ...
, and
somatic experiencing Somatic experiencing (SE) is a form of alternative therapy aimed at treating trauma and stressor-related disorders like PTSD. The primary goal of SE is to modify the trauma-related stress response through bottom-up processing. The Clients’ ...
.


Massage

One form of bodywork is deep tissue
massage therapy Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...
, 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.


Statistics in the United States

According to a 2002 survey of adults in the United States by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (NCCIH) and the
National Center for Health Statistics The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a U.S. government agency that provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the public health of the American people. It is a unit of the Centers for Disease Control ...
(NCHS): *
Acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
was used by 4.0% of the population, with 1.1% having used it in the last year. * Chiropractic 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 (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
was used by 7.5% of the population, with 5.1% having used it in the last year. *
T'ai chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...
was used by 2.5% of the population, with 1.3% having used it in the last year. *
Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
was used by 0.5% of the population, with 0.3% having used it in the last year. * Energy healing and
reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a " universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the ...
were used by 1.1% of the population, with 0.5% having used it in the last year.


See also

* Somatics * Energy medicine


References

{{Authority control Manual therapy Mind–body interventions Massage therapy