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 ...

, 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 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 Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. Practitioners use a number of names including various synonyms for m ...

. 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 info ...

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 classica ...

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 p ...

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-conscio ...

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'' ''sha ...

, 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 ...

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. 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 Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscien ...

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 Rolfing () is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf (1896–1979) as Structural Integration. Rolfing is marketed with unproven claims of various health benefits. It is based on Rolf's ideas about how the human body's " ...

, postural integration,

shiatsu ''Shiatsu'' ( ; ) is a form of Japanese bodywork based on concepts in traditional Chinese medicine such as qi meridians. Having been popularized in the twentieth century by Tokujiro Namikoshi (1905–2000), ''shiatsu'' derives from the older J ...

, 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 Feldenkrais Method is a type of exercise therapy devised by Israeli Moshé Feldenkrais (1904–1984) during the mid-20th century. Participants are led through varied patterns of body movement, either hands-on or verbally guided, with the ai ...

, the Hakomi method, integrative body psychotherapy,

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 (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 scient ...

was used by 4.0% of the population, with 1.1% having used it in the last year. *

Chiropractic Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscien ...

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-conscio ...

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'' (), ''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 Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. Practitioners use a number of names including various synonyms for m ...

and

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

References

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

Forms

Massage

Statistics in the United States

See also

References