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Trial registered on ANZCTR
Registration number
ACTRN12615000364572
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
18/02/2015
Date registered
22/04/2015
Date last updated
25/11/2019
Date data sharing statement initially provided
25/11/2019
Date results provided
25/11/2019
Type of registration
Prospectively registered
Titles & IDs
Public title
Effectiveness of Bowen Therapy in the management of chronic widespread pain
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Scientific title
The effect of Bowen Therapy on pain and function in people with chronic widespread pain
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Secondary ID [1]
286198
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None
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Universal Trial Number (UTN)
U1111-1167-3284
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Trial acronym
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Linked study record
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Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Chronic widespread pain
294234
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Condition category
Condition code
Musculoskeletal
294549
294549
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0
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Other muscular and skeletal disorders
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Neurological
294550
294550
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0
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Other neurological disorders
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Alternative and Complementary Medicine
295005
295005
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0
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Other alternative and complementary medicine
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Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
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Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Six sessions of 45 mins of Bowen therapy over 6 weeks. Bowen therapy will be administered by a qualified Bowen therapist and involves a series of precise, gentle and painless pressure moves, called Bowen Moves, that are applied with the thumbs and fingers onto specific points of muscles, tendons and ligaments.
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Intervention code [1]
291215
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Treatment: Other
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Comparator / control treatment
1) Six sessions of 45 mins of sham Bowen therapy over 6 weeks
2) Usual care for 6 weeks
Sham therapy will involve "pseudo-Bowen" moves that will involve skin touch but will not include pressure.
Usual care will require participants to continue with their normal therapy (if any) over the 6-week period.
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Control group
Placebo
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Outcomes
Primary outcome [1]
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Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire II
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Assessment method [1]
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Timepoint [1]
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1 week following the last intervention session and 6 weeks following the last intervention session.
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Primary outcome [2]
294332
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Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH)
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Assessment method [2]
294332
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Timepoint [2]
294332
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1 week following the last intervention session and 6 weeks following the last intervention session.
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Primary outcome [3]
294333
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Lower Limb Tasks Questionnaire (LLTQ)
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Assessment method [3]
294333
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Timepoint [3]
294333
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1 week following the last intervention session and 6 weeks following the last intervention session.
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Secondary outcome [1]
313057
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Pressure pain threshold assessed using a manual algometer
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Assessment method [1]
313057
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Timepoint [1]
313057
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1 week following the last intervention session and 6 weeks following the last intervention session.
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Secondary outcome [2]
313058
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Heat pain threshold assessed using thermode
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Assessment method [2]
313058
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Timepoint [2]
313058
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1 week following the last intervention session and 6 weeks following the last intervention session.
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Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
18 - 80 years of age, stable pain for the preceding 3 months, be taking consistent analgesic medication, report a pain score > 3/10 on most days.
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Minimum age
18
Years
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Maximum age
80
Years
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Sex
Both males and females
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Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
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Key exclusion criteria
severe or unstable medical or psychiatric conditions, have received Bowen therapy previously, incapable of mounting and dismounting the therapy table without significant assistance, unable to provide informed consent, unhealed wounds or skin lesions, less than a month from any surgical procedure, BMI higher than 40, pregnancy
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Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
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Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
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Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
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Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
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Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
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Who is / are masked / blinded?
The people receiving the treatment/s
The people assessing the outcomes
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Intervention assignment
Parallel
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Other design features
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Phase
Not Applicable
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Type of endpoint/s
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Statistical methods / analysis
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Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
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Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/06/2015
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Actual
7/11/2016
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Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
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Actual
3/07/2017
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Date of last data collection
Anticipated
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Actual
23/11/2017
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Sample size
Target
45
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Accrual to date
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Final
31
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Recruitment outside Australia
Country [1]
6672
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New Zealand
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State/province [1]
6672
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Auckland
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Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1]
290771
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Charities/Societies/Foundations
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Name [1]
290771
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Bowen Association Australia
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Address [1]
290771
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PO Box 6572
Wetherill Park
NSW 2164
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Country [1]
290771
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Australia
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Primary sponsor type
University
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Name
Auckland University of Technology
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Address
Private Bag 92006
Auckland 1142
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Country
New Zealand
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Secondary sponsor category [1]
289455
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Individual
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Name [1]
289455
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Dr Kiho Lee, Otago Bowen Therapy
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Address [1]
289455
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Otago Bowen Therapy
35 Columba Ave
Calton Hill
Dunedin 9012
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Country [1]
289455
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New Zealand
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Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
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Ethics committee name [1]
292402
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Health and Disability Ethics Committee
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Ethics committee address [1]
292402
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Ministry of Health Ethics Department Reception - Ground Floor 20 Aitken Street Thorndon WELLINGTON 6011
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Ethics committee country [1]
292402
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New Zealand
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Date submitted for ethics approval [1]
292402
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02/03/2015
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Approval date [1]
292402
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22/12/2015
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Ethics approval number [1]
292402
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15/CEN/59
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Summary
Brief summary
Bowen therapy is a manual therapy type of complementary medicine developed in the mid-1980s. It involves precise, gentle and painless pressure moves, called Bowen Moves, applied with the thumbs and fingers onto specific points of muscles, tendons and ligaments. Preliminary evidence has indicated that it can reduce pain in some chronic pain conditions; however, the evidence to date has been provided from uncontrolled pilot studies. The goal of the current study is to determine the effects of Bowen Therapy on pain and function in people with chronic widespread pain. A randomised controlled trial will be undertaken with three groups. One group will receive real Bowen therapy, one group will receive sham Bowen therapy, and the third group will receive ongoing care. Outcome measures assessing pain function will be obtained prior to the intervention, one week after the 6-week intervention, and 6 weeks after the intervention. The study will identify any specific effects that Bowen therapy has on the function of the pain system and how this influences function.
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Trial website
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Trial related presentations / publications
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Public notes
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Contacts
Principal investigator
Name
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A/Prof Gwyn Lewis
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Address
55034
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Health and Rehabilitation Research Institute
Auckland University of Technology
Private Bag 92006
Auckland 1142
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Country
55034
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New Zealand
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Phone
55034
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+64 9 921 9999
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Fax
55034
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Email
55034
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[email protected]
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Contact person for public queries
Name
55035
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Kiho Lee
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Address
55035
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Otago Bowen Therapy
35 Columba Ave, Calton Hill
Dunedin 9012
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Country
55035
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New Zealand
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Phone
55035
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+ 64 3 487 6880
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Fax
55035
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Email
55035
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[email protected]
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Contact person for scientific queries
Name
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Gwyn Lewis
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Address
55036
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Health and Rehabilitation Research Institute
Auckland University of Technology
Private Bag 92006
Auckland 1142
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Country
55036
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New Zealand
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Phone
55036
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+64 9 921 9999
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Fax
55036
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Email
55036
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[email protected]
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Data sharing statement
Will individual participant data (IPD) for this trial be available (including data dictionaries)?
No
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No/undecided IPD sharing reason/comment
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What supporting documents are/will be available?
No Supporting Document Provided
Results publications and other study-related documents
Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.
Documents added automatically
Source
Title
Year of Publication
DOI
Embase
Short term relief of multisite chronicpain with Bowen Therapy: A double-blind, randomized controlled trial.
2020
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2020.06.025
N.B. These documents automatically identified may not have been verified by the study sponsor.
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