Hope for Back Pain Sufferers….. Alexander Technique is endorsed by the British Medical Journal.
A study published online by the British Medical Journal, referring to a trial with over 500 patients, offers some hope.
Professor Paul Little of Southampton's faculty of medicine and his colleagues recruited 579 patients from 64 GP practices. They were either given normal care, massage, 6 lessons, or 24 lessons of Alexander technique (AT). Half the patients in each group were also given an exercise programme involving walking.
Little said "This is a good, large, trial. It is good enough evidence for people to take it seriously."
Of the approaches tested, lessons in the Alexander Technique provided the most benefit. The research reveals that following 24 AT lessons, the average number of activities limited by low back pain had fallen by 42%, and the number of days in pain had decreased from 21 to 3 days per month one year after the trial started. Also a series of 6 lessons followed by GP-prescibed general exercise was about 70% as beneficial as 24 AT lessons alone.
As a back pain sufferer myself I gained enormous benefits from the Alexander Techniuqe, so much so that I decided to take the 3 year training to become a teacher of the Alexander Technique myself. I am not at all surprised by the results in the British Medical Journal.
This is a quote from one of my clients:
‘I went to learn the Alexander Technique because I had considerable lower back pain and also suffered from disabling migraines. Both these conditions have not just been alleviated, they have been almost entirely removed. I no longer take pain killers for either one of these problems’ Dr M.
Advocates of the Alexander Technique include Paul McCartney, Sting, John Cleese, Greg Chappell, Joan Bakewell and many more:
‘The Alexander Technique works... I recommend it enthusiastically to anyone who has neck pains or back pain.’ Roald Dahl, writer.
‘97% of people with back pain could benefit by learning the Alexander Technique - it is only a very small minority of back pain sufferers that require medical intervention such as surgery.’ Jack Stern – spinal neurosurgeon.
