Summary of Research
INTRODUCTION
1. Ethology and Stress Diseases
Nikolaas Tinbergen, Professor of Animal Behavior, University of Oxford, Oxford, England Science, 185:20-27, 1974
A distinguished Nobel Laureate writes of his understanding of the Alexander Technique and strongly recommends it as a sophisticated form of rehabilitation for all stress-related diseases, i.e., rheumatism, high blood pressure, breathing problems and sleep disorders.
2. Stress Reduction and Optimal Psychological Functioning
Samuel Reiser, DDS, Certified Teacher, Alexander Technique Sixth International Montreux Congress on Stress, 1994.
Primary Control is an Alexander Technique concept explored in a lecture covering the fields of education and preventive medicine given at the Sixth International Montreux Congress on Stress.
PUBLISHED RESEARCH
3. Early Experiences of a Multidisciplinary Pain Management Programme
Keren Fisher, MSc ABPsS Holistic Medicine, 3(1):47-56, 1988
Chronic pain sufferers, studied and followed up at three months and one year, find the Alexander Technique the most effective treatment modality for relieving chronic pain.
4. The Alexander Technique: An Approach to Pain Control
Judith C. Stern, MA, PT, Certified Teacher, Alexander Technique Lifeline, Summer, 1992
Case study of a patient who recovered from 20 years of chronic pain after four months of lessons in the Alexander Technique.
5. A Study of Stress Amongst Professional Musicians
Michael Nielsen, Medical School, University of Aarhus, Denmark The Alexander Technique: Medical and Physiological Aspects, Chris Stevens (Ed.) STAT Books, London, 1994
Performance stress in musicians is studied and results show that the Alexander Technique is as effective as beta-blocker medications in controlling the stress response during an orchestra performance.
6. Postural Management of Scoliosis in the Adolescent and Adult Based on the Alexander Technique
Deborah Caplan, MA, RPT, Certified Teacher, Alexander Technique American Center for the Alexander Technique, 1980.
Scoliosis patients can significantly improve their appearance, strengthen their spinal musculature and achieve maximum spinal support using the Alexander Technique.
7. Method for Changing Stereotyped Response Patterns by the Inhibition of Certain Postural Sets
Frank Pierce Jones, Institute for Psychological Research, Tufts University, Certified Teacher, Alexander Technique Psychological Review, 72, (3):196-214, 1965
Postural habits can be profoundly affected by the Alexander Technique, specifically by learning and applying the concept of inhibition.
8. Enhanced Respiratory Muscular Function in Normal Adults after Lessons in Proprioceptive Musculo-skeletal Education without Exercises
John H.M. Austin, MD, FCCP, and Pearl Ausubel, BA, Certified Teacher, Alexander Technique
Respiratory function was studied in adults instructed in the Alexander Technique. Spirometry tests demonstrated that subjects showed significant increases in all test parameters, indicating that the study of the Technique improves respiratory muscular function. Listen to interview
with John Austin, Professor Emeritus of Radiology at the Columbia University Medical Center.
9. Randomised Controlled Trial of Alexander Technique Lessons, Exercise, and Massage (ATEAM) for Chronic and Recurrent Back Pain
Paul Little, professor of primary care research, Primary Care Group, Community Clinical Sciences Division, University of Southampton, Aldermoor Health Centre, Southampton SO16 5ST,
Published trial on the efficacy of the Alexander Technique to help chronic and recurrent back pain. 579 patients were enrolled in a controlled study showed 85% reduction in days in pain after 24 Alexander lessons, after one year.
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