Alexander Technique Proves Helpful for Chronic Back Pain.

Byline: Betsy Robinson

In their recent book, Trick or Treatment, authors Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, M.D., point out that many alternative therapies have not been tested with formal double-blind clinical trials - and that most alternative treatments fail when they are tested (see "Pioneer Makes About-Face on Alternative Medicine," S&H, Sept./Oct. 2008). So it is critically important to take notice when an alternative therapy is found to work in a study worthy of a major medical journal. In this case, the Alexander Technique, a practice of modifying posture through self-observation (see Body Practices, S&H, Dec. 2005 at Spiritualityhealth.com), has proven to be helpful for chronic nonspecific low-back pain.

In this study, reported in British Medical Journal, 579 patients from 64 medical practices in the UK were involved in the trial. Medical researchers at the University of Southampton and Bristol University assessed benefits provided by normal medical care (control), six sessions of massage, six or twenty-four lessons on the Alexander Technique, and prescriptions for exercise from doctors with nurse-delivered behavioral counseling. The outcome was measured by the Roland Morris disability score (number of activities impaired by pain) and number of days in pain.

After one year, those who received twenty-four lessons in the Alexander Technique reported the fewest days with back pain in the past four weeks and the most improvement in quality of life. Those who received only six Alexander lessons, followed by exercise, achieved 72 percent of the effect of twenty-four Alexander lessons. The six massages produced no benefit after a year, though massage was helpful in the short term. The researchers concluded that one-to-one lessons in the Alexander Technique from registered teachers have long-term benefits for patients with chronic back pain.

For self-practice instructions in Alexander Technique, go to BalanceofWellBeing.com. To read the journal study, go to the August 19, 2008, issue of British Medical Journal at bmj.com.