Edwin F. Bowers

“ The zone therapy man squeezed the tip of the fourth finger, raised the finger nail, and let it settle back a dozen or more times, “to see how the circulation reacted,” as he said. After three or four minutes he said “By the way, Doctor, which ear did you say is giving you the trouble?”
The Doctor looked up in blank amazement, felt his ears, shook his head, and said, “You don’t mean to say that that darned foolishness cured my ear-ache, do you?”
It does seem silly, and yet it “works.” And anything that works is beneficent and helpful, and deserves encouragement. ”

“ FitzGerald is to give us specific details of one of the most wonderful and perplexing things connected with the art of medicine. This, because a physician’s premise is to teach—as well as heal. Because publicity concerning the prevention and cure of disease is a duty he owes mankind: not as an altruist, but as a human being. ”

“ All zones must be free from irritation and obstructions to get the best results. For instance, if there be pain in the head, chest, abdomen, or extremities in one or more zones, it may be relieved or quite overcome by pressure on resistant surfaces anywhere in the zones affected. If the pain be relieved for a few moments only, and repeated pressures do not overcome it, it is safe to assume that the pain is due to some abnormal pressure or irritation, as gas, pus, impactions, necrosis, etc., somewhere in a zone or group of zones, which demands medical or surgical interference. ”

“ Too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. For it keeps one thus afflicted from acquiring more.
Of course it seems outlandish and quite beyond the pale of reason, to ask a man who can minutely describe the semi-circular canals of the ear, or bound the internal labyrinth on the north, south, east and west, to believe that by pressing with a blunt probe behind the wisdom tooth, or at the angle of the jaw on the upper surface, the hearing of the adjacent ear can be materially benefited. ”

“ Zone therapy demonstrates the co-relation of all parts of the body, also the manner in which pressure or contact upon certain zones is effective in the relief of pain or disease.
Diagnosis of the cause of pain may be worked out quite perfectly over or through any zone or part of zone. If a patient complains of pain, and indicates that the right eye is involved, and you overcome the pain by pressure on the front of the right index finger, it is absolutely certain that his disturbance is excited by congestion or irritation in the anterior section of the zone ”

“ And this reminds me that a certain minister of my acquaintance has been teaching his Boy Scouts zone therapy methods, with especial reference to curing themselves of coughs and other common ailments. The boys also find it valuable in their “First Aid to the Injured” work. I can readily understand that the analgesic effects of zone pressure should be effective in the camp, as well as in the home, or in the dead-of-night emergency.
Zone therapy opens up a tremendous field. So the more experimenters we have the sooner every one will know just how tremendous and useful and marvelous it is. ”

“ The majority of patients say that, while they are unable to detect these sensations—only extra-susceptible individuals have this faculty,—their pain is disappearing, or has already disappeared. Patients who are most susceptible to pressure or contact will trace heat or cold from an individual hair of the head, or an eyelash, to the margin of the finger-nail or toe-nail, and if a hair or eyelash be quickly pulled out, the sensation of numbness is often quickly registered beneath the finger-nail or toe-nail of the invaded zone. ”

“ For sickness of the stomach is quite generally relieved by steady pressure made over the first and second zone on the backs of the hands with the teeth of a metal comb. The comb should be pressed firmly over the areas running from the thumb and first finger of both hands, including the web between the thumb and first finger—which seems to have a very intimate connection with the stomach. If there is no comb handy, the finger nails will do good substitute work, but the metal is best, as it seems to stimulate an electrical contact that helps the “impulse.” ”

“ Yet whooping cough is one of the simplest and most easily-cured diseases with which zone therapy has to contend. An ordinary case of whooping cough, which has persisted for weeks, can sometimes be cured in from three to five minutes. Rarely are more than four or five treatments necessary. Case after case is recalled in which, after the application of a cotton-tipped probe—held down firmly on the back of the throat (the post-pharyngeal wall) , little patients who had whooped themselves into a state of nervous and physical exhaustion, never had another paroxysm of coughing. ”

“ There are four reasons why zone analgesia—as we call the pain-relieving properties of zone therapy—are not more generally used by dentists. One is that the dentist doesn’t wish to put himself in the embarrassing position of suggesting such a foolish-seeming thing to his pain-racked patient. Another is that the patient herself thinks she’s conferring a favor upon the dentist by permitting him to spend five or ten minutes’ valuable time in attempting to alleviate her sufferings, and make the ordeal of cavity preparation or scaling comparatively painless. ”

“ Eye strain and muscle tire are largely under the control of the nervous system. If the nerves are fatigued, the muscles function imperfectly. If the muscles are wearied the nerves sympathize, and make the fact known by raising a wail of distress.
And so it follows that a skeptic is legitimately entitled to say “Yes, you zone therapists cure eye strain by squeezing fingers or toes, but as the condition is primarily a nervous one, you really cure it by suggestion.” ”

“ But the same condition in the same patient may not be cleared up from the same point every time. For instance, if the pain is in the second zone of the forehead, at one time we may stop it by “attacking” the forefinger. The next time, however, pressure upon that finger might not have the slightest effect, and we would have to go to the tongue or the roof of the mouth to get results. Another time we might be successful only from the nose—or by pressing the teeth of an aluminum comb on the skull, above or below the seat of pain—and so on. ”

“ The noblest and most self-sacrificing profession on earth is the one most industriously engaged in sawing the branch between itself and the tree of Financial Gain. The doctor is the philanthropist most impressively employed in killing the geese that lay his golden eggs with one hand, while he cuts his pocket-book’s jugular vein with the other. ”

“ And so, we who believe in zone therapy now understand why we grind our teeth. It is because the action relieves nerve tension, and diminishes the pain in all the zones of the body connected by those invisible and as yet undiscovered nervous wires strung through the telegraph poles of the teeth. ”

“ Occasionally it happens that a patient will go to a physician who uses zone analgesia to be prepared for the services of a dentist who doesn’t. Only recently a man suffering from indigestion [Pg 165] and rheumatoid arthritis (rheumatism of the joints with progressive stiffening) was advised by his physician to have his teeth removed, the doctor insisting that because four wisdom teeth were the only teeth he had that were not decayed and completely broken down, nothing else would cure his indigestion and rheumatism. ”

“ Headaches and neuralgias, of purely nervous origin, not due to poison from toxic absorption from the bowels, or to constipation, or alcoholism, tumors, eye-strain, or some specific organic cause, usually subside under this pressure within a few minutes.
’Tis as easy as lying. Many patients cure their own or their friend’s and relative’s headaches or neuralgic attacks in this manner. In their own headaches they use their right or left thumb—depending upon whether they are right or left-handed. In treating others, they use the first and second fingers, pressing firmly under the seat of pain. ”

“ Let the physician or the dentist, who ascribes these phenomena to suggestion, attempt to relieve an aching, left incisor, for instance, by pressing the little finger of the right hand of his patient, or exercise his persuasive powers on a throbbing molar by pressing the thumb of either hand. He will find himself up against a stone wall, so far as results are concerned, for only by exerting proper pressure, on the proper zone or zones, for an adequate length of time, will the pain disappear. ”

“ One, a lady, about 55 years of age, had a growth on the side of her neck, diagnosed as cancer. By the bio-dynamic method, I confirmed this diagnosis. This growth was as large as an ordinary sized orange, and very hard and unyielding. The lady told us that, until she began being treated by means of zone therapy and zone analgesia, she had not slept for months without some opiate. For more than two years now she said she had taken no opiates, and had rested without any pain when zone pressure anesthesia was used. ”

“ Toe-nails and finger-nails must be respected and as well taken care of, for health’s sake, as any other section of the individual zones. There is not a section of a finger-nail or toe-nail that may not affect (under stimulation or pressure) the most distant parts of the body.
Also, it might be of interest here to note that while enough pressure is good, too much is mild murder. This can be testified to by all who, by means of new shoes, foolishly apply constricting pressures to their toes. ”

“ But the treatment must be persistent. It must be the intent to keep the goitre zone “quieted,” never allowing it, except during sleep, to come completely out of the influence of the pressure. And even during sleep in aggravated cases, moderate pressure should be continued.
I would especially emphasize the importance of seeing that the teeth are put in a perfect condition before attempting the cure of any case of goitre. For there is no doubt that the evil influence of bad teeth is not, by any means, confined to the throat and tonsils, as many observers contend. ”

“ In treating goitre by zone therapy a thin probe, (See Fig. 9) , the point of which is wrapped in cotton dipped in a little alcohol, spirits of camphor or camphor water (these seem to increase the “impulse”) is passed through the nostrils to the posterior or back wall of the pharynx. Pressure is made in various spots “low down” on this wall (a little practice will soon determine almost the exact “spot” to probe) , until a definite sensation is felt in the region of the goitre. ”

“ This is one reason why many physicians and surgeons, using the method, make a routine practice of sending every patient, in whom dental disease is even suspected, for a thorough overhauling by a competent dentist.
Another reason for striving to keep all our original teeth in their places is that nature intended to preserve the continuity—if it may be so termed—of our various nerve zones. Sound, healthy teeth and roots in their normal occlusion, seem to assist in the normal functioning of the entire zone chain of which they are important links. ”

“ One of the most important things Americans have to learn is how to relax. Anything that will teach them to do this should prove a boon.
Therefore I feel certain that, before many years, the principles and practices of zone therapy will be as familiar and universally applied as are now the principles of domestic hygiene or the practice of sterilizing baby bottles. And then zone therapy will add to the depth and breadth, as well as to the length of human life. ”

“ Zone pressure has, for this reason, become a diagnostic factor of great value in disclosing hidden pus conditions or inflammatory processes—particularly in the roots of teeth, the ears, appendix, ovaries, or in other organs.
Pain anywhere in any zone may be overcome more quickly by pressure with an applicator, or with cautery contact at certain points throughout the corresponding zone or zones in the mouth, pharynx, epipharynx and nose; but the finger and toe pressures may be relied upon very often. What applies to one zone applies to all. ”

“ Pathological conditions from irritation in the nose, epipharynx, pharynx, mouth, vagina, rectum, etc., may be responsible not only for annoying local manifestations, but for obscure pathological changes in the most remote sections of the body; and their course can usually be traced through an individual zone or group of zones. There is not an existing pathological condition that cannot at least be relieved, and a large proportion can be cured by zone therapy. ”

“ Many erudite members of the medical profession claim that zone therapy and zone analgesia might be interesting if found in Gulliver’s Travels or Munchausen’s Romances, but that emphatically they have no place in medical literature. For every one knows that an egg cannot be made to stand on end. ”

“ Another physician, who has had a large and successful experience with zone therapy, writes:
“In obstetrics I have almost completely discarded chloroform at the close of the second stage, where I used to almost always use it. In the first stage, zone therapy relieves the nagging pains without retarding, but rather promoting dilatation. In the second stage delivery is hastened. Women seem so quiet and easy one would think ‘there was nothing doing,’ until on examination, you are surprised to see what has been accomplished. ”

“ We are repeatedly called upon for the theory of zone therapy. Many theories are interesting but not conclusive, and rather than be obliged to retract theories, we are not going to advance them, except very superficially, at the expense of clinical facts. ”

“ When we clasp the hands of one sorely stricken and in the throes of despair, we are, in addition to supplying him with comforting magnetism and physical solace, producing a distinctly analgesic and quieting effect upon his entire nervous system. ”