Infrared Thermography in the Evaluation of Bowen Therapy Effects
In this lecture, participants will be introduced to infrared medical thermography and its growing role in modern medicine, rehabilitation, and manual therapy evaluation. Through practical examples and clinical explanations, the audience will learn how thermal imaging works, what a thermogram actually represents, and how the human body reflects physiological processes through temperature patterns visible on the skin. The lecture will explain how thermography can detect changes related to circulation, autonomic nervous system activity, muscular overload, inflammation, and myofascial dysfunction, as well as why it is increasingly being explored as an objective assessment tool in rehabilitation sciences. Special attention will be given to understanding thermal asymmetries, regions of interest (ROI), and the importance of standardized medical imaging protocols in clinical investigations. Participants will also explore how Bowen therapy may influence thermal responses within the body through effects on fascial tension, muscular relaxation, circulation, and autonomic regulation. By comparing thermograms before and after treatment, infrared thermography may provide valuable insight into physiological changes associated with Bowen therapy and open new possibilities for objective treatment evaluation. The speaker is currently preparing a doctoral dissertation titled: “Evaluation of Bowen Therapy Effects Using Infrared Thermography in Myofascial Pain of the Cervical and Periscapular Region.” This lecture is designed to connect traditional Bowen practice with contemporary scientific methodology while encouraging curiosity, critical thinking, and future research within the Bowen community.
About Marin Buljan
Marin Buljan, MSc Physiotherapy, Bowen Therapist, is a physiotherapist, university teaching assistant, and PhD candidate at Alma Mater Europaea University in the field of Physiotherapy. He currently works as a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health Osijek and as the head physiotherapist at Medical Center Mursa. He has been actively involved in manual and rehabilitative therapy for many years, with a special professional focus on Bowen therapy and functional rehabilitation. Marin completed formal Bowen education for healthcare professionals in 2016 and has extensive clinical experience as a long-term Bowen therapist. His doctoral research is focused on the topic: “Evaluation of Bowen Therapy Effects Using Infrared Thermography in Myofascial Pain of the Cervical and Periscapular Region.” Through his work, he aims to connect evidence-based physiotherapy, medical infrared thermography, and Bowen therapy in order to develop more objective methods for evaluating therapeutic outcomes and autonomic responses to manual therapy.
Today we are speaking to Marin Buljan from Croatia, PhD candidate in the Alma Mater Europa University, physiotherapist, Bowen practitioner, teaching assistant in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Head Physiotherapist at the Medical Centre Mursa. We are going to be talking about his upcoming presentation of his in-progress research for his PhD on using Medical Infrared Thermography to look at the effects of Bowen Technique on myofascial pain of cervical and periscapula regions of the body. This is such an exciting breakthrough in research on Bowen and a really exciting conversation about how in real time, not only can you see changes in the localised tissues of the body through medical thermal imaging, but how distal and peripheral changes are also being recorded.