Alexander Technique and Back Pain
Research shows that 80% of back pain is due to non-specific causes and that chronic back pain persists long after any tissue damage has healed.
The Alexander Technique helps to alleviate non-specific, chronic pain as it addresses many of its non-disease related causes.
- Undue Muscular Tension
- Posture
- Unhelpful thinking strategies
- Inappropriate movement patterns
Much of what we do is governed by habits laid down in childhood; while some of these habits are beneficial to our well being, others are not.
The body is designed to be at ease in an upright position but in today’s world many of us spend hours hunched over office or school desks, which distort the natural curve of the spine and throw our shoulders and head forward, putting a strain on postural ligaments. Postural ligaments have many nerve ending which when aggravated cause pain.
So often in life we are so busy and so preoccupied with pressing matters that we do not notice the pain response until it becomes overwhelming and stops us in our tracks.
Chronic pain is acknowledged to have physical and psychological dimensions as patients begin to develop a fear of the pain and become even more tense. Often chronic back pain patients are simply not aware of just how tense they are. Their unbalanced posture leads to emotional distress, muscle fatigue and trapped nerves, which the body responds to by producing yet more pain.
The Alexander Technique teaches us how to break this cycle, notice and release undue tension and develop new movement patterns that prevent pain and create greater ease within the body.