An end to neck pain?

This is fantastic news reported recently by STAT on the results of long term research into alleviating neck pain.

The following was reported by STAT: A recent publication from the ATLAS neck pain trial reports on the in-depth interviews that were conducted with some of the trial participants. The interviews revealed participants’ feelings of greater control over managing their neck pain through becoming more self-aware and learning how to apply Alexander thinking skills. Participants also described how they continued to use the understanding and skills they had gained, after the Alexander lessons had ceased, to sustain and in some cases further improve their reduction in neck pain. Example quotes from the publication are:

“Really uplifted by it, really empowered by it and really surprised at, at what I had experienced.”

“…you don't really have to physically do anything, you've just got to think it… So you can be walking down the street and you can put it into practice, I can be at work…I had made my muscles go soft that for ten years hadn't been, and that was just from my teacher just explaining what to do and just very lightly touching my shoulders and just…talking me through it.”

“I'm a much calmer person, it's taught me how to take a step back and assess a situation rather than jump straight in … because I've learnt how to do it, I've learnt how to take a step back, I've learnt how to relax my body.”

The publication’s lead author is Aniela Wenham, the University of York researcher who helped design the study and who carried out all the interviews. Co-authors include the ATLAS principal investigator, Professor Hugh MacPherson and STAT. It is published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice and is open access ─ free for everyone to view! Read the article here)