This finding represents new clinical research on the benefits of Alexander Technique.
The research study, recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that taking lessons in the Alexander Technique is a better, more effective option for relieving neck pain than traditional treatment with drugs and conventional physical therapy. Acupuncture was also studied for effectiveness with a separate group, and scored equally well. The results only got better when they measured the participants long term relief.
“In general, it is difficult to find long-term treatments that have a positive effect on chronic neck pain, but both acupuncture and the Alexander Technique lessons did”, said lead researcher Hugh MacPherson, of the department of health sciences at the University of York.
The study concluded that “Alexander Technique lessons led to significant reductions in neck pain and associated disability compared with usual care at 12 months. Enhanced self-efficacy may partially explain why longer-term benefits were sustained.”
In the previous post on my blog: Alexander For the Treatment of a Cervical Herniated Disc, I wrote about the role of AT in treating neck pain associated with disc herniation. There I included a video with senior Alexander teacher, Judy Stern talking about why AT is a highly effective non-surgical option for this condition. I encourage you to re-watch the video as it goes beyond talking about cervical herniation to explain the critical role AT plays in easing chronic neck pain, which supports the findings of this study.
Sources:
Annals of Internal Medicine
National Institute of Health, Medline Plus
The post AT Shown To Ease Chronic Neck Pain appeared first on Rachel Bernsen – Alexander Technique.
