Other Scientific Research on the Benefits of the Alexander Technique

Systematic Review of Medical and Health-Related Studies on the

Alexander Technique
A paper published January 2012 in The International Journal of Clinical Practice "Evidence for the effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons in medical and health-related conditions: a systematic review" concluded that "strong evidence exists for the effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons for chronic back pain and moderate evidence in Parkinson’s-associated disability. Preliminary evidence suggests that Alexander Technique lessons may lead to improvements in balance skills in the elderly, in general chronic pain, posture, respiratory function and stuttering."
You can read the study here and watch a video by the lead author here.

Other studies

In addition to the major back pain study, a number of smaller-scale, but well-designed studies have shown a range of significant benefits from lessons in the Alexander Technique.

Parkinson's disease
Lessons in the AT have been shown to lead to sustained benefit for people with Parkinson's disease including significantly reduced disability and depression.

Balance
AT instruction has been shown to be effective in improving balance in normal older women. The researchers concluded that this improvement could lead to the consequential benefit of reducing the incidence of falls.

Breathing
A subjective sense of greater ease of breathing has often been reported by pupils taking lessons in the AT. This has been tested in a study published in Chest, that showed a significantly enhanced respiratory function in adults following a course of 20 weekly lessons.

Knee Osteoarthritis
A study funded by the BUPA Foundation is currently investigating the effectiveness of the AT for knee osteoarthritis. A small pilot study has shown a considerable reduction in joint loading after lessons in the AT and it is hoped that these changes will lead to improvements in both pain and mobility.

Skilled Performance

In a small pilot study surgeons who undertook a course of Alexander Technique lessons reported significant improvements in posture, endurance and surgical ergonomics, and this was accompanied by a reduction in perceived discomfort when performing basic laparoscopic ('keyhole surgery') skills.

The Alexander Technique is taught in almost all of the major schools of music, drama and dance to improve skilled performance and research has looked at the role of the AT in music training and performance.

One recent study demonstrated improved musical technique in the form of greater evenness of touch in pianists after having a lesson in the Alexander Technique.

Another study demonstrated a reduction in performance-related anxiety and improved performance quality in musicians following Alexander Technique lessons.

Psychological Benefits

Alexander Technique students consistently report psychological improvements as an important consequence of lessons (see 'What pupils say' and 'Quotes'), including more confidence and a reduction in stress, and this was an important additional finding in the back pain study outlined above. Two of several possible mechanisms for these benefits are improvements in posture and in mobility.

Posture and Confidence
Lessons in the Alexander Technique are known to lead to a marked improvement in posture.

Many studies have shown a strong connection between good posture and measures of the respect accorded to a person, as well as their own self-confidence and sense of personal power, and this is a benefit frequently reported by AT pupils. An interesting example of research into this connection is to be found in a recent study published in The Journal of Psychological Science in which good posture was found to have an even greater positive impact on confidence than real experiences of positions of power. Another recent study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology showed that good posture was positively associated with confidence in one's own thoughts and sense of oneself.

Mobility and Attractiveness
In one recent study, published in Human Movement Science, that employed various measures of mobility, training in the Alexander Technique was shown to reduce stiffness by as much as 50%.

Apart from the many health benefits of mobility, studies have shown a correlation between mobility and perceived attractiveness and health. An interesting example of this is a recent study published in Biology Letters and widely reported in the media, in which the variability and amplitude of dance moves was found to be positively associated with perceptions of attractiveness.