There is good news for people interested in the Alexander Technique and for anyone who is suffering from chronic back pain.The BMJ Online has just published the results of the ATEAM Research Trial which shows that people who had 1:1 lessons in the Alexander Technique, with a registered teacher, experienced a significant reduction in levels of back pain along with an improvement in the quality of their life. Importantly, these results were sustained one year later.
It is likely that if people maintain their improved use and application of the Technique, the results could be sustained for even longer but it has not been possible to clinically evaluate this as yet.
Recurrent back pain is extremely common and is one of the main causes of disability and absence from work in developed societies. However, until now there has been little clinical evidence to show which treatments may help people and the ATEAM trial now shows that supervised exercise can have some benefit, massage has less but that the Alexander Technique offers the greatest long term benefit for people with non-specific back pain.
As one of the registered A/T teachers selected to teach on the ATEAM Research Trial, I am particularly pleased that the results show so clearly that learning the Alexander Technique can be of great benefit for people with low back pain. Alexander teachers have known for a long time that the Technique can help people with chronic back pain and it is good that there is now some statistically significant evidence to this effect that we can put before the scientific and medical community.
If you would like more information about the Technique or individual Alexander Technique Lessons in Stoke Newington N16, you may
contact me here.
You may also phone me:
+44 (0) 20 7254 9206
Randomised controlled trial of Alexander technique lessons, exercise, and massage (ATEAM) for chronic and recurrent back pain BMJ 2008;337:a884