The Balanced Approach to Back Care

“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 neurosugeon

Constance has synthesized 10 years of student success in reducing or eliminating back pain into a lesson learning experience expressly geared for people with back pain or people who want to prevent a future flare-up.

Back pain usually stems from something we do—either in our posture or movement. If it comes from an injury, we can heal better and faster by learning how to balance our bodies as we heal. If the pain comes from the ongoing way we do our everyday movements, we can learn to re-balance ourselves in those movements. Sitting, standing and walking are often done out of balance. Even the instruction “Stand up straight and pull your shoulders back” trains us to be out of balance. Many people have tried to hold this posture since they were children, but it is unsustainable. Our bodies were designed to function in an ideal balance that is not compressed or rigid, but easily upright and mobile.

Every student who has come to me with back pain has been helped through Alexander lessons. Training yourself to pay attention to how you use your body and learning the basic skills of balanced posture changes the cycle of tightness, compression and pain.

In 2008, the British Medical Journal published a large scale study with astounding results. Lessons in the Alexander Technique reduced back pain up to 86%.

Summary of results, after one year:

Control Group (normal care: pain killers, counseling) = 21 days of pain per month
After 6 Alexander lessons (with walking exercise) = 11 days of pain per month
After 24 Alexander lessons (without exercise) = 3 days in pain per month

See the study (with a short video) here.

How would your life be different if you had less pain?
Call for a free phone consultation about how the Alexander Technique works for back pain and how lessons can improve your specific back or neck pain issues.