By Jean McClelland

Back pain is a worldwide affliction and a leading cause of disability. More work hours are lost due to back pain, and sufferers spend excessive amounts of money trying remedies to alleviate their discomfort. Back pain has many causes, and it is crucially important to seek out the root cause through appropriate medical and diagnostic tools. It can occur from simple muscle strain from overuse to much more serious spinal and neurological issues. Back pain can also occur from using our bodies in a way for which they were not designed.

In 2008, a peer-reviewed research paper was published in the British Medical Journal documenting a randomized trial comparing the efficacy of the Alexander Technique, massage and physiotherapeutic exercise for chronic and recurrent back pain. The study used 579 patients with chronic or recurrent low back pain; 144 were randomized to normal care, 147 to massage, 144 to six Alexander technique lessons, and 144 to 24 Alexander technique lessons. In addition, half of each of these groups were randomized to exercise and behavioral counseling. It was found that private lessons in the Alexander Technique from certified teachers had long-term benefits for patients with chronic back pain. Six lessons followed by an exercise prescription were nearly as effective as 24 lessons. The conclusion of this study was not surprising to those of us who practice Alexander Technique.

Alexander Technique teachers have trained their eyes and hands to observe how someone is using their body. We notice immediately if a student’s body is compressed and holding excess tension. We also notice how this affects breathing and the mobility of the ribcage. Ribs are meant to be moveable, and a fixed ribcage can inhibit breathing. This also affects our pain level because shallow breathing can’t rid the lungs of carbon dioxide, and a buildup of CO2 tenses nerves and muscles.

It is imperative for all of us to become accustomed to sitting “comfortably erect.”  This is important because it begins to make us aware of the anatomy of our torso, the main part of our body that contains the chest, abdomen, pelvis and back. Many people have no idea that their pelvis is attached to their spine and that it is part of the torso. When we sit comfortably erect, we are balancing on the bottom bones of the pelvis, commonly called, “sitz bones.”  

The photo in this article demonstrates how the chair rises up underneath to uphold us rather than collapsing down into the chair. Notice how sitting comfortably erect opens the whole torso. Back pain is often the result of thinking our waist is the bottom of the torso, but it is not. The pelvis is the bottom of the torso and learning how to sit comfortably erect on our sitz bones will help us appreciate our torso and can go a long way in relieving back pain.

Jean McClelland is on the faculty of the Graduate Program in Acting at Columbia University and a guest lecturer in the music department at William Paterson University. She is an AmSAT certified senior teacher of the Alexander Technique and studied with Carl Stough at his Institute for Breathing Coordination. She is one of fewer than a dozen people worldwide personally selected by Stough to teach his work. In addition, she has performed extensively in musical theater and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. She teaches in-person and virtual private lessons and group classes. For more information, visit JeanMcClellandVoice.com.