Abstracts of Published Pilot Studies on the Alexander Technique
STAT is aware that these studies cannot be considered statistically significant owing to their small sample sizes and, in certain cases, a failure to meet all the criteria conventionally applied to academic research. However, these studies may point to the desirability and feasibility of further, more rigorous research on a larger scale and with greater funding.
Indeed, one of the studies listed here was followed by a second, larger one, which is listed in the page on recently completed research and work in progress
The abstracts are displayed chronologically, starting with the most recent.
The texts are reprinted as they appeared in their original publications, and do not necessarily represent the views of STAT.
THE ABSTRACTS
Functional Reach Improvement in Normal Older Women After Alexander Technique
Instruction
Abstract:
METHODS
RESULTS
CONCLUSIONS
Copyright © The Gerontological Society of America.
An Evaluation of the Alexander Technique for the Management of Disability in
Parkinson's Disease - a Preliminary Study
Abstract:
DESIGN
SUBJECTS
SETTING
INTERVENTIONS
MEASURES
RESULTS
CONCLUSIONS
Copyright © Clinical Rehabilitation.
Enhanced Respiratory Muscular Function in Normal Adults after Lessons in Proprioceptive
Musculoskeletal Education without Exercises
Abstract:
Copyright © Chest.
Go to:
Author: Ronald J. Dennis
Journal: Journal of Gerontology (1999) 54A M8-M11
BACKGROUND
Functional reach (FR) is a clinical measure of balance. The Alexander Technique (AT) is a
nonexercise approach to the improvement of body mechanics. This study investigated a possible
relationship between FR performance and AT instruction.
Three groups comprising women older than 65, with the exception of one male control,
were studied:
1 a pilot group
2 experimental group
3 control group
Groups 1 and 2 were given eight 1-hour, bi-weekly sessions of AT instruction with pre- and
posttests in FR, whereas group 3 was only given pre- and posttests in FR.
Groups 1 and 2 both showed significant improvement in FR performance. Group 2 was retested 1
month after posttest and showed a slight decrease in FR performance. For Groups 1 and 2, a
questionnaire allowing qualitative responses on a four-item scale showed an overall positive
response to the AT instruction.
AT instruction may be effective in improving balance and therefore reducing the incidence of
falls in normal older women.
Reproduced by permission of the publisher.
To consult the whole article, contact Journal of Gerontology.
Author: C. Stallibrass
Journal: Clinical Rehabilitation (1997) 11 7-12
OBJECTIVE
To test the effect of the Alexander Technique (AT) on the management of disability and feelings
of depression in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).
Subjects completed four self-report questionnaires, one set before the course of lessons and a
repeat set when the lessons were ended. The postal questionnaires were mailed directly to the
subject's home from the university with a stamped addressed envelope.
Seven volunteers, with no previous experience of the Alexander Technique, diagnosed by
consultant neurologists to have idiopathic Parkinson's disease.
The subjects were contacted by the nearest registered AT teacher and were taught in the
individual teacher's practice rooms, in the same way as other pupils.
Subjects received a median of 12 lessons.
The self-report measures were the BECK Depression Inventory, activities in daily living, body
concept, and social functioning disability questionnaires.
Post-lessons the subjects were significantly (p<0.05) less depressed. They had a significantly
more positive body concept and had significantly less difficulty in performing daily activities,
and significantly less difficulty on the fine movement and gross movement subscales of the
activities in daily questionnaire.
The statistically significant results are consistent with the hypothesis that for PD patients
on drug therapy, the Alexander Technique reduces depression and improves the management of
disability, but in the absence of a control group and a larger sample, they cannot be said to
confirm the hypothesis. The likelihood of the AT being effective in the management of disability
for many PD patients, as shown in this study, makes further controlled research desirable.
Reproduced by permission of the publisher.
Note: The author has completed and recently published a larger study into the effects of
Alexander Technique on disability in PD at the University of Westminster. See the page on this
site on Recently completed research and work in progress.
Authors: J.H.M. Austin, P. Ausubel
Journal: Chest (1992) 102 486-490
A subjective sense of enhanced ease of breathing has been described after instruction in the
Alexander Technique of proprioceptive musculoskeletal education (awareness and voluntary
inhibition of personal habitual patterns of rigid musculoskeletal constriction). We investigated
the effects of AT instruction on respiratory function in healthy adult volunteers (group 1, ten
subjects) who received 20 private AT lessons at weekly intervals. Spirometric tests, including
maximum static mouth pressures, were assessed before and after each course of lessons. Healthy
control subjects, matched for age, gender, height, and weight (group 2, ten subjects), without
instruction, were tested over a similar interval. Group 1 showed significant increases in PEF
(9 percent, p<.05), MVV (6 percent, p<.05), MIP (12 percent, p<.02) and MEP (9 percent, p.<.005)
(paired Student's t testing). Group 2 showed no significant changes. Possible mechanisms for the
changes in group 1 include increased length and decreased resting tension of muscles of the
torso, which in turn may increase their strength, increase thoracic compliance, and/or enhance
coordination. We conclude that AT musculoskeletal education may enhance muscular function in
normal adult subjects.
Reproduced by permission of the publisher.
To consult the whole article, contact
www.chestjournal.org
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