The Bontems Method
One practitioner, several layered lenses.
Daniel Bontems does not practise a single technique. He has built his practice on several disciplines and chooses, for each person, the combination that fits their situation.
It often all starts with your test results: imaging, lab tests, reports. After the consultation, he can send a written report explaining his reading and his choice of approach. His role: to connect what each specialty sees separately, and to refer you to the right medical professional when necessary.
The lenses he layers
- Medical imaging interpretation
- Osteopathy
- Pain neuroscience
- Respiratory physiology
- Micronutrition and expertise in mitochondrial health
- Traditional Chinese medicine
The painful area is not always the cause.
Low back pain can come from a hip, neck pain from a breathing pattern, a digestive problem from tension in the diaphragm. Treating only where it hurts often amounts to treating the shadow without looking at what casts it.
Having several lenses makes it possible to trace a chain back rather than stopping at the symptom. Having several tools makes it possible to act on the link that matters.
One example he observes in his patients: knee pain can be sustained by the jaw and by breathing. This is the jaw, breathing, perineum, knee and foot chain, which he has been studying for several years and which remains little described in the literature.
Order matters
One rule shapes the care: structure first. If mechanical mobility is blocked, the finer approaches, whether nutritional advice, breathing retraining or energy work, will not have their full effect.
Likewise, when a supplement or a treatment does not produce the expected effect, it is sometimes because the body is not able to absorb or assimilate it.
Jaw, breathing, perineum, knee, foot
- Jawocclusion, bruxism, tongue position
- Breathingdiaphragm, breathing pattern, rib cage
- Perineumpelvic floor, pelvis
- Kneelower-limb alignment, weight-bearing
- Footarches, ground contact
The chain can be read in both directions: a strain can travel down from the jaw to the foot, or up from the foot to the jaw.
What he uses, and why
Each tool has its indication. The choice is made at the assessment, never on principle.
Reading your test results
Holder of the inter-university diploma (DIU) in clinical anatomy applied to medical imaging (Hôpital Ambroise-Paré), Daniel Bontems goes through your MRI and CT scans, X-rays and reports with you, to connect what they show with what you feel. He adds his biomechanical reading of parameters that seem minor but shed light on the clinical examination.
Osteopathy
The foundation. Work on joint mobility, the spine, the pelvis, fasciae and muscle chains. It is the starting point for most courses of care.
Neuroscience and the approach to pain
Understanding how pain sets in, is memorised and persists independently of its initial cause. Decisive in chronic pain, where the nervous system itself becomes part of the problem.
Breathing techniques
Assessment of the breathing pattern, followed by targeted work. Breathing shapes posture, recovery, exercise tolerance and stress regulation.
It is his field of choice: in 2022 he drew from it a 367-slide course based on around 800 references, taught over three days in Lausanne, which gave rise to his Bontems Method Breathing training.
Shiatsu and traditional Chinese medicine
A complementary reading, through the meridians and the body's overall balances. An external manual practice, it is used alongside the structural work. Daniel Bontems teaches anatomy and physiology at shiatsu schools.
Micronutrition and expertise in mitochondrial health
The biochemical angle: low-grade inflammation, deficiencies, quality of recovery. Holder of the university diploma (DU) in micronutrition from the Faculté de médecine Paris Descartes, he refers patients for functional laboratory tests and interprets the results, always in collaboration with specialist doctors.
LightBack
A device for compressing and decompressing the femoral head in the acetabulum, reaching deep areas of the pelvis that are hard to access by hand. Used before and after ACL reconstruction (DIDT hamstring graft), in liaison with physiotherapists, and to mobilise and relax the perineal muscles.
Dry needling
A dry needle technique applied to points of muscle tension known as trigger points. Daniel Bontems trained in it in 2013 (CFPCO) and uses it alongside manual work for certain persistent myofascial tensions.
Acupuncture
Trained in Western Medical Acupuncture in 2018 and holding a diploma in Chinese medicine, he uses this approach as an extension of shiatsu and meridian-based reading.
One method, several formats
The Bontems Method can be experienced at the practice, through an ongoing Premium programme, at talks or in training.
Consultations
In Neuilly-sur-Seine and Aix-en-Provence.
The practicesFrom €1,400The Premium programme
Executives, elite athletes, athletes preparing for a key event.
The Premium programmeClubs, national teams, companiesTalks and consulting
In France and internationally.
ConsultingProfessionalsBontems Method Breathing
ENT & Breathing Assessment, then Breathing 360°.
The trainingTalk
Chronic and complex myofascial pain syndromes: a presentation given by Daniel Bontems at a Réseau Douleur Paris evening.
About the method
Another question? Write to the practice
How does Daniel Bontems choose between these approaches?
The techniques depend on the case history and the causal leads it opens up, on clinical tests, and on the reading of laboratory results and medical imaging (X-rays, MRI, CT scans, ultrasound).
Structure is treated first; the other tools come in afterwards, according to what the situation requires and what the person can tolerate.
How does Daniel Bontems work with my doctor?
He reads the letters and test results you bring. After the consultation, he can send your doctor a written report explaining his reading and his choice of approach. When the analysis points to a medical specialty, he refers you to it.
Within the Réseau Douleur Paris, this work is done collegially, with hypotheses exchanged between practitioners.
Are all these techniques used in every session?
No. Most consultations involve conventional osteopathic work. The other approaches come in when the situation warrants it: persistent pain, specific underlying factors, a sporting context, an associated breathing complaint.
Does this replace medical follow-up?
Never. Osteopathy addresses functional disorders and complements medicine; it does not take its place. When a complaint falls outside this scope, referral to a doctor is part of the consultation.