Scientific research

• Back pain trial
• Neck pain trial
• Other studies
• Review of evidence
• References

Back pain trial

A major clinical study has shown that lessons in the Alexander Technique lead to significant long-term benefit for people with chronic low back pain. After one year, compared with people who received usual GP care, those who had taken 24 Alexander lessons had significantly:

• less back pain (3 days of pain per month versus 21 days)
• less incapacity
• and improved quality of life. 1

Further details of the back pain trial

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Neck pain trial

A new clinical trial is investigating how effective Alexander Technique lessons are, compared with usual GP care, for people with chronic neck pain. The 3-year trial is being conducted by the University of York and is funded by Arthritis Research UK.

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Other studies

A large, randomised, controlled clinical trial, such as the one in back pain, represents the 'gold standard' in terms of evaluating new health interventions. In general, however, and unlike the situation for new pharmaceutical drugs, there has been little research funding available to support extensive studies into the Alexander Technique.

Nonetheless, a small randomised, controlled trial has shown significant benefits of Alexander Technique lessons for people with Parkinson's disease in reducing associated disability. 2-4 In addition, there is evidence from small-scale, well-designed studies for improvements in balance in elderly people 5,6 and in breathing capacity7 following Alexander instruction (as well as earlier studies showing reduction in back pain). 8,9 Preliminary data also suggest benefits of lessons for people who stutter 10 and in improving posture. 11,12

Research suggests that some of the benefit from learning the Alexander Technique may result from improving postural muscle tone, coordination, flexibility and balance. Thus, studies have shown that individuals who have undergone Alexander Technique training have increased adaptability of muscle tone with reduced stiffness, and improved postural coordination and balance. 9,13 Other studies have shown a more poised state of head balance, with reduced muscular tension in the neck, as well as significantly less force required following lessons to perform everyday actions such as standing up from a seated position. 12, 14-16

The value of the Alexander Technique in the performing arts has long been recognised, and it is an integral part of teaching at several leading music and drama institutes (e.g. RADA and the Royal College of Music). A randomised study has demonstrated a reduction in performance-related anxiety and improved performance quality in musicians following Alexander Technique lessons. 17 These findings relating to performance are supported by the results of another study in pianists that showed improved evenness of touch when playing the piano following Alexander lessons. 18

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Review of evidence

Please note that this section includes links to PDF documents that require Adobe Acrobat Reader (which you can download here if you don’t already have it).

The evidence for the effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons across different health-related conditions has recently been evaluated and published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.19 The review found strong evidence for the effectiveness of Alexander lessons for people with chronic back pain and moderate evidence in helping alleviate disability associated with Parkinson’s. Preliminary evidence was found across a diverse range of other health-related conditions.

You can read the submitted version (i.e. the pre-peer-reviewed version) of this paper by Woodman and Moore, or link to the published final form (note there may be a journal fee to access the final article but the submitted version, which is free, is very similar to the final one). The journal also invited us to produce a short video presentation summarising the main findings of the review. Both the video and the review are aimed mainly at health professionals but may also be of interest to some members of the public.

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References

1. Little P; Lewith G; Webley F; et al. Randomised controlled trial of Alexander Technique lessons; exercise and massage (ATEAM) for chronic and recurrent back pain. British Medical Journal 2008;337:a884.
2. Stallibrass C; Frank C; Wentworth K. Retention of skills learnt in Alexander Technique lessons: 28 people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 2005;9:150-7.
3. Stallibrass C; Sissons P; Chalmers C. Randomized; controlled trial of the Alexander Technique for idopathic Parkinson's disease. Clinical Rehabilitation 2002;16:695-708.
4. Stallibrass C. An evaluation of the Alexander Technique for the management of disability in Parkinson's disease - a preliminary study. Clinical Rehabilitation 1997;11: 8-12.
5. Dennis RJ. Functional reach improvement in normal older women after Alexander Technique instruction. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 1999;54:M8-M11.
6. Batson G, Barker S. Feasibility of group delivery of the Alexander Technique on balance in the community-dwelling elderly: preliminary findings. Activities Adaptation and Aging 2008;32:103-119.
7. Austin JHM and Ausubel P. Enhanced respiratory muscular function in normal adults after lessons in proprioceptive musculoskeletal education without exercises. Chest 1992;102:486-90.
8. Vickers AP; Ledwith F; Gibbens AO. The impact of the Alexander Technique on chronic mechanical low back pain (unpublished report). 2000.
9. Cacciatore TW. Improvement in automatic postural coordination following Alexander Technique lessons in a person with low back pain. Physical Therapy 2005;85:565-78.
10. Schulte D, Walach H. F.M. Alexander technique in the treatment of stuttering- a randomized single-case intervention study with ambulatory monitoring. Psychother Psychosom. 2006;75(3):190-1.
11. Reddy P, Reddy T, Noh P, Gaitonde K. The impact of Alexander Technique in improving posture during minimally invasive surgery. J Urology 2010;183 (Suppl):e519.
12. Barlow, W. Psychosomatic problems in postural re-education. Lancet 1955;24 Sep:659-64
13. Cacciatore TW, Gurfinkel VS, Horak FB, Cordo PJ, Ames KE. Increased dynamic regulation of postural tone through Alexander Technique training. Human Movement Science 2011;30:74–89.
14. Jones FP and Gilley FM. Head balance and sitting posture: an x-ray analysis. J Psychology 1960;49:289-93.
15. Jones FP, Gray FE, Hanson JA and O’Connell DN. An experimental study of the effect of head balance on patterns of posture and movement in man. J Psychology 1959;47:247–258.
16. Stevens C, Bojsen-Moller F, Soames RW. (1989) The influence of initial posture on the sit-to-stand movement. European Journal of Applied Physiology & Occupational Physiology. 58 (7): 687-92.
17. Valentine ER; Fitzgerald DFP; Gorton TL; Hudson JA; Symonds ERC. The effect of lessons in the Alexander Technique on music performance in high and low stress situations. Psychology of Music 1995;23:129-41.
18. Williamson M; Roberts N; Moorhouse A. The role of the Alexander Technique in musical training and performing. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2007; Porto; Portugal. Eds. Williamson A and Coimbra D. ISBN 978-90-9022484-8. Available from http://www.performancescience.org.
19. Woodman JP and Moore NR. Evidence for the effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons in medical and health-related conditions: a systematic review. International Journal of Clinical Practice 2012;66:98–112.