Back and neck pain help that lasts
How the Alexander Technique can help you
?Most often people take lessons in the Alexander Technique as a way to help their back pain or as a method for improving artistic performance. This wasn’t my reason as I didn’t know that I needed it, I was just curious. I walked away from my first lesson, however,?feeling as if I’d been introduced to my body for the first time and it was thrilling.?I felt lightness, ease, internal energy and a sense that I was working correctly. I floated away from my teacher’s house and knew that I wanted to train to teach it.
I’ve since seen it bring revelations to people who had no idea that they had certain unhelpful patterns or permanently tensed a part of themselves. They have little awareness of what is happening in their bodies and when it is shown to them they are filled with a sense of wonderment.
There is proof from an Oxford study that if we hold tension in the muscles beyond a certain point, the muscle spindles (the transmitters) that send the message up to your brain cease to work. When the muscle spindles are doing their job, and we have the ability to listen to our body, then we have more feedback and can make better choices.
This heightened awareness allows us to notice unnecessary fixing, pushing or contracting at the idea of performing a task or as a reaction to a thought. If we are worried, our body can contract with a fear response, pulling our head back and down, the shoulders in or fixing our ribs which then alters our breathing. Sometimes this response may be necessary but often it can occur habitually due to work pressures or social pressures and only serves to do harm by distorting our form, altering our breathing and creating internal stress. By learning the Technique, we can still have the thoughts but not disturb our internal workings in response.?I have found that by noticing when I tense myself (for instance, clenching my jaw) in response to a negative thought and then release it, I am able to let go of the thought also and respond appropriately in the moment. Since I have reduced my physical tension, my mind has also calmed bringing me a sense of peace.
I used to work in a pressured job in television production and I thought that my calm nature was suited to it. I was aware that I had back pain but I didn’t know then that my response to stress is to pull my tail bone back and up and hold it there . A solution to this you might think is to tuck it down and under but intentionally doing something becomes unsustainable particularly when the mind is focused on other things. The solution when applying the Alexander Technique is to recognise habits that interfere with the ease and mobility within our body and notice the tightness rather than actively try to pull the body into a different position. We can choose to let it go and allow this part of the body to operate without interference whilst prioritising the free movement of the head, neck and back. By encouraging active thoughts that bring about expansion, we have a strategic way to stop harmful tensions and distortions that are not required for a particular movement.
Initially, thoughts of maintaining length, depth and width in your body?and mobility in the top joint of your neck (this is higher than you think and is in line with the upper part of your ear lobes) need to be applied consciously but eventually they become integrated into how you move and think. My lower spine is now able to move freely which in turn allows other parts of my body to move freely too (I discovered that I held my breath in addition to my lower back). Being able to recognise a neutral?state within helps us to notice when we are operating in a high gear. Sometimes this intensity is necessary but often it is not and needlessly uses energy. In this fast paced world, we push ourselves to achieve and function without giving a thought to our body, at least not until it gives us pain. The ability to use our body more consciously can help us to prevent harmful movements but can also be helpful for those suffering from chronic pain as they can become empowered with their own self-care practice.
I recently taught someone with similar back problems as myself. She had exhausted every avenue of treatment but still had persistent back pain and reduced mobility which affected her enjoyment of life. With no medical explanation for her?problem, she is?now looking to herself?and, with the help of the Technique,?becoming aware of her habits of tension and habitual contraction just as Alexander did. The Technique was developed by F.M. Alexander (1869 - 1955) a stage actor. He experienced vocal problems (in the days before microphones) which left him unable to work. He was treated by various doctors but showed no signs of improvement. After much self observation, he identified a pattern of movement that constricted his throat and which interfered with the natural workings of his body. When he was able to prevent the movement in response to the stimulus of projecting his voice, he was able to find a permanent solution to his problem. He recognised that change needs to be brought about by the individual in order to be effective and that we (our mind and body) work together as an integrated whole. When you disrupt one part of it (in particular, the relationship between the head, neck and back) then you alter the natural balance and harmony throughout.
Therapeutic benefits such as reduced back pain, neck and shoulder pain, headaches, joint problems and stress disorders are experienced by addressing how a person interferes with the natural workings of their body. Balance can also be improved and this is also applied to the distribution of weight on the joints. I have worked with people after hip replacements who now have developed pain in the “good” hip. This side has taken the strain for many years and it takes some effort for the person to learn to use both hips equally when the painful one has been avoided and protected for some time. By habitually overloading one part of the body, then a failed part is to be expected.
The change and understanding required?to learn and apply the Technique isn’t an instant solution to a long standing problem but, like learning any skill, takes practice.?When applied, the student becomes aware of many things that happen within the mind and body and have more choice over their current state. Long term effectiveness for musculoskeletal pain conditions has been demonstrated in two large randomised controlled trials (*1 ) and in addition learning the Technique is often associated with good posture. Improved posture and body mechanics?are associated with better?balance, coordination and greater ease in all activity. ?A common misconception of good posture, however, is to be up and straight but as the body is meant to move in multiple directions, how can there be a correct position? Learning the Technique brings about an expansion and a quality of how you use your body whilst freeing your mind of the notion that you need to fix parts of your body (such as pushing your chest out as a sign of strength or forced confidence). It is this expansion or desire not to reduce your internal space that can lead to improved aesthetics of uprightness, wide shoulders, free limbs and true confidence.
This may sound esoteric but the concept is actually very simple (and the Technique is completely practical); if we can stop doing the wrong thing (like creating unnecessary tension or contracting our body inwards) then our head will balance on top of our spine, our whole spine will work with the whole body and we will function optimally. Length, width and depth in a person is encouraged and when a person has more awareness of this, they notice when they take it away. They can relate the physical response to the situation or movement that caused it thus learning not to do the same thing with the same stimulus.
During a lesson, the teacher uses verbal guidance and a light touch to raise awareness of the amount of tension, ease or effort that the student is bringing to a simple task such as sitting down. This process, the abandonment of your own unique set of unhelpful habitual tendencies can then be applied to all activities and responses to thoughts. With practice, you begin to notice how you respond and by applying the Technique you develop and retain natural poise and coordination despite the demands made of you from the external world. I’ve found that realigning my body with various treatments does little to quell the contractions and internal pressures that I inflict upon myself?as my response to life. It is only by addressing the environment in which the pain arose that we can change the outcome. The skeletal alignment, the gait patterns, the thought processes and beliefs about the use of our body are a system as a whole and are impacted by the way we live our life.
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Having an awareness of our internal body while we are operating in the world around us is why the Technique is able to bring about long term benefits to those who learn it. It helps us to understand how to operate our body either by moving from the correct joints but also by using appropriate tension and balance throughout. It can solve much more than ergonomic problems and poor posture. It is a tool for life that can help you to remain calm and centred and not lose yourself to panic and fear. Having a method to apply in response to your reactions helps you to look after yourself in that moment and I’ve found this to be an invaluable asset.
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[1]?Excerpts from Randomised controlled trial of Alexander Technique Lessons, Exercise, and Massage (ATEAM) for chronic and recurrent back pain.?(August 2008), doi:10.1136/bmj.a884?Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a884) [online]
Available at:?https://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a884
[Accessed?1st May, 2021]
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Andrea Hughes is a qualified member of the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique and registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council.
Visit her website https://www.alexandertechniquealtrincham.co.uk/