After being left disabled and in constant pain from a riding accident, Alex Cutty found relief in an holistic therapy called the Bowen Technique. Marjorie McIntyre talks to her.

ALEX Cutty was just 17 and taking part in a Pony Club event when her horse reared and crashed backwards on top of her. As the horse's full weight landed on the slight young girl, a bystander heard what he thought was a gunshot. The piercing crack was Alex's spine breaking.

The horrific accident left one of the country's most promising young riders with three smashed vertebrae, 14 broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and a broken collarbone.

Alex was rushed to what was then Sedgefield Cottage Hospital, where eminent surgeon Ray Ellis operated on the fragmented vertebrae. She was then transferred to the Lodgemoor Spinal Injury Hospital, in Sheffield, where she began what was to be a lifelong battle against pain. Unable to move below the waist, she was told she would always have to wear callipers.

Undaunted, the resourceful daughter of Major Allan and Margery Parkinson designed herself trendy knee-length boots with compartments which hid her leg irons.

Over the years, Alex faced each hurdle with breathtaking fortitude. She went back to her beloved riding with specially-made stirrups, married twice and, against medical advice, had three children.

Her problems were still far from over, though. Five years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was yet another battle the indomitable solicitor's wife would endure with fortitude and, in typically determined manner, she opted for a double mastectomy. She is now in full remission.

Overshadowing everything, Alex has endured unrelenting pain from her severe spinal injury, pain for which she has resolutely refused to turn to any chemical solution.

"I have always been determined never to take painkillers because I believed that while they may ease one thing, they would very likely cause another,'' says Alex.

Instead, she turned to a leading osteopath, Harry Hawes. who proved a godsend. "After he died, I went to his son who suggested I should try the Bowen Technique, a system devised by the late Australian Tom Bowen. He discovered how releasing tension around specific areas very often not only cured the source of pain, but had beneficial effects on the whole body. I was sceptical but felt it was worth a try and, amazingly, after one session I literally felt like skipping home,'' says Alex.

Now a British Horse Society Assistant Instructor, Alex discovered that the technique was already being used on horses and dogs. "Then I thought if it had helped me, maybe I should try and help others who were enduring chronic pain,'' she says.

Alex enrolled at the European College of Bowen Studies in Frome, Somerset, but 18 months into the training, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

After her double mastectomy, she had chemotherapy and, as soon as she was given the all-clear, returned to complete her course. She is now a fully qualified Bowen Technician.

Working from her home near Chester-le-Street, Alex has already notched up some notable successes with clients, from those suffering from whiplash injuries to others injured in riding accidents.

"I would emphasise that it does not work for everybody but so far, most of my clients have found the difference amazing,'' she says.

The process is not based on massage or manipulation but on a gentle rolling of the soft tissue and muscle structure. "It is so rewarding to see people who have been in pain for long periods of time suddenly released from their agony,'' says Alex.

No-one could understand that feeling more than she can. She still undergoes the Bowen Technique about every four weeks. "I had never thought of going in for anything like this but now I'm so glad I have trained in the system," she says. "My entire and sole aim is to help those who don't want to be reliant on painkillers for the rest of their life.''

* The Bowen Technique is an holistic system and encompasses asthma, migraine, severe headaches and sinus problems, as well as injuries old or new.

Alex can be contacted on 0191-3882189 or 07889666389.