Manali Singh

I recently came across a very interesting piece of information about an ancient therapy for back pain. This method known as the Alexander technique was developed by an Australian actor named Alexander some hundreds of years ago. However it never really gained popularity because its effectiveness was never tested. During one of his performances Alexander lost his voice. He had this firm belief that he lost his voice because he stiffened his body while trying to speak.

This technique is basically all about the correct posture. A recent study has shown that this technique might actually cure long lasting back pain. People practicing Alexander technique are taught stand, sit and walk correctly. They are taught about the type of posture which they must maintain in order to avoid back pain.

According to this technique, we maintain poor posture because we tense our neck muscles excessively. The strained and tensed muscles can occur due to stress or emotional problems. When our posture isn’t straight, our spine becomes misaligned and this strains the spine and limits its movements. So this technique is based on freeing up the neck, spine and head. When your neck muscles are relaxed or in other words freed, the head rises up and positions itself on the top of the spine (in the correct way). And when the head rises up, the spine becomes wider and longer. This is how Alexander technique works!

People suffering from back pain are taught to relax their neck muscles. They must lengthen and soften their neck muscles to release the muscle tension. This can actually increase their height by an inch too! Alexander technique might prove to be a big breakthrough in the management of chronic back pain especially lower back pain. It makes the muscles more flexible and prevents muscle spasms. The postural muscles also gain strength. More and more people around the word are trying out the Alexander technique to get rid of their back pain problems!