
Alleviate Back Pain, Improve Posture & Boost Your Energy
with the Buttafly Technique
What Is The Buttafly Technique?
The Buttafly Technique is a way of using the uniquely-shaped Buttafly in supine lying to facilitate a natural release of your spine.
The Technique can be used for daily self-care of the spine and also as a treatment by physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals who have completed the required training.
What Does It Involve?
During the Buttafly Technique, a Standard size Buttafly is positioned low down under your pelvis while you are lying face up to the ceiling.
This position supports the wisdom in your body to facilitate a natural unwinding of the spine from the inside. This invariably leads to a realignment of the spine and the surrounding soft tissues.
It’s very different from having treatment by a physiotherapist, chiropractor, or osteopath where the spine is mobilised or manipulated from the outside.
Rather, the body is given a chance to find its own way, at its own pace, and in harmony with the rest of the body.


Your Plumb Line
A standard way to assess posture is to observe your plumb line as viewed from the side.
This measurement is set up from the external auditory meatus of your ear, and, in the ideal, is described as running through the midline of the shoulder, the bodies of the lumbar vertebrae, slightly posterior to the hip joint, slightly anterior to the knee joint, and slightly anterior to the lateral malleolus, the prominent bone on the outer side of the ankle.
The Buttafly Technique negates the need to control your posture by way of cues. Constantly having telling yourself to tuck your bottom in, pull your shoulders back, or draw your navel towards your spine does not achieve good posture.
Does It Hurt?
No – for the Technique to be effective you must be warm and comfortable, and in an environment where you feel at ease and able to relax.
If you have back pain or sciatica already, the pain should not be made worse by doing the Technique.
In setting up the Buttafly Technique for yourself, it is very important that you follow the instructions given on the website. Please see Treat Your Own Back with the Buttafly Technique.
If you are working with a practitioner they will help you to achieve this.
What Can You Expect?
The Buttafly Technique invariably leads to a realignment of the spine. This improves your posture and gives relief from back pain and other symptoms attributed to the spine.
What The Professionals Say About The Buttafly Technique
“The Buttafly Technique is probably the best system I’ve used for low back relief. And I’ve tried them all,” says Paul James Donnelly, CEO, and Founder of Winback Medical UK & Ireland.
It also comes recommended by the award-winning physiotherapist, Dr. Fatemeh Rezaei-Sajadinia, Back Pain Physiotherapy Specialist of the Year, 2021, and is endorsed by the Complementary Medical Association.
Who Invented The Buttafly Technique?
This exciting development for the treatment of back pain has been developed by Loulou James, MCSP (Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy), an intuitive and experienced therapist with 30 years of clinical experience in the NHS, the military, and private practice.
It’s how Loulou cured her own back problems after fracturing her spine in a roller-blading accident. Since then, she’s gone on to use it with the majority of her clients and finds that everyone feels the benefit.
To discover more about how Loulou came to develop the Buttafly Technique, click here.
The body has a deep intelligence and the capacity to bring itself back into balance. That said, we rarely, if at all, consider how this applies to the spine and posture. But it does, and the Buttafly Technique harnesses it beautifully.”
Loulou James, MCSP
Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and creator of the Buttafly & the Buttafly Technique

The Buttafly Effect
The effects of the Buttafly Technique demonstrate that the spine has an innate intelligence and that, as with all our biological systems, it is in a constant state of flux striving to achieve balance.
The Buttafly Technique helps to facilitate the processes by which this happens.
Through the development of the Buttafly Technique, Loulou came to see the extent to which people – even those without back pain – artificially ‘hold’ themselves in some way; also that most struggle to find their natural posture, even those who practice yoga and Pilates, and have regular bodywork.
This is where the Buttafly Technique comes into its own. Rather than something external being applied or done to the spine, the body is given a chance to find its own way, at its own pace, and in harmony with the rest of the body.


Who Will Benefit From Using The Buttafly Technique?
The alignment of the spine influences all the systems of the body, and anything that changes the alignment will, by the same token, influence all these systems.
For many people, the Buttafly Technique has been shown to boost their overall health and vitality.
At the same time, the Technique really comes into its own as a posture corrector and for the relief of back pain, and in many cases, sciatica too.
Any condition that affects the alignment of the hips, the pelvis, the lower back, and the belly respond well to the Buttafly Technique.
For more information about the specific types of back pain that benefit, scroll down.
Types Of Back Pain That Respond Well To The Buttafly Technique
The Buttafly Technique works especially well for:
- Chronic Back Pain. This term is used to describe acute back pain that continues beyond the average healing time of 3 months.
- Non-Specific Low Back Pain. This term is used to describe a chronic condition where there is no known cause of symptoms.
- Postural Back Ache. The Buttafly Technique works well for the kind of backache that is due to poor posture, especially when related to long periods of sitting or bending at work.
- Sports-Related Back Ache. Our customer base includes many runners, cyclists, tennis, and golf players. They find the Buttafly Technique is very helpful in providing postural release particularly when it comes to the deep trunk and hip flexor muscles (think psoas!)
- Facet Joint Syndrome
- Sacroiliac Joint Pain
- Scoliosis
- Back Stiffness Following Spinal Surgery. E.g. Discectomy and spinal decompression
- Chronic Pelvic Pain

"It was amazing how quickly I could feel the difference!"
“I find as a keyboard-based worker that my back often gets achy towards the end of the day, and that’s how it was when I went to see Loulou and check out the Buttafly.
After a quick look at me in standing, she soon had me lying on the floor with the Buttafly positioned in a comfortable position so that my back was tilted up away from the floor.
I laid there for around four minutes but even within a minute or so I could start to feel my back settling into a more comfortable profile, and the tension easing. It was amazing how quickly I could feel the difference as my body adjusted deeply to the new alignment.
After the Buttafly was taken away I laid back flat on the floor and could feel how much my shape had changed. It was even more obvious when I stood up, as you can see from the photos. It’s amazing how having the right support can adjust your posture.”
Rob D., Hampshire
Other Conditions That Respond Well To The Buttafly Technique
- Hip pain/ arthritis of the hip/post-hip replacement
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Women’s Health conditions including period pain, pregnancy, post-partum, and organ prolapse
The physical body is a continuum, and every part of it is connected to every other part of the body in some way or another.
When you have pain anywhere in the body, it will always impact the spine.
Neck and shoulder pain will cause you to hold yourself stiffly – and if you can’t turn your head fully to reverse your car, somewhere else along the length of the spine will have to make up for the shortfall.
A limp will affect the realignment of the whole body even when there is no pain attached to it. Think of what it’s like to walk when you have a stone in your shoe!
“For the last 7 years, I’ve been treating clients with the Buttafly Technique, many of whom have NOT had a back problem, yet in every case, they’ve experienced a realignment of their spine. This has brought me to a new understanding of the spine, posture, and back pain.”
Loulou James, MCSP (Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy)

Hear What Our Customers Have To Say
Ashton, a newly-graduated Sports Science suffers from back pain and sciatica. Hear how the Buttafly Technique has helped her manage her symptoms.
Yoga and Pilates Teacher Tracey Mellor is “blown away” when trying the Buttafly Technique for the first time.
David, a retired psychologist, reports that the Buttafly Technique gave him immediate relief after a long drive caused a resurgence of back pain 6 weeks following a discectomy.
The Buttafly has been a “life-changer” for software specialist Paul. “I’ve had chronic back pain and sciatica for almost 30 years now. I’ve been to physiotherapists, chiropractors, and osteopaths – all have helped in their own but nothing has really resolved the problem. But I’ve recently discovered the Buttafly and it’s been an absolute revelation to me.”
Book An Online Consultation With Loulou James
“Over the past two years, I’ve discovered working online to be surprisingly effective. I offer a variety of different consultations.
For more information, prices, and to book, please click on the button below. “
Are you an Allied Health Professional or a Massage Therapist & keen to explore new ways to support your clients?
The Buttafly Effect refers to the release of the spine that occurs as a direct result of careful positioning the Buttafly block in supine lying.
With proper application, the Buttafly Technique is effective in providing relief from back pain and associated symptoms.
We invite you to learn how to incorporate this outstanding new technique accredited by the Complementary Medical Association into your work for back care and relief of pain.
