This video was commissioned by the FM Alexander Trust from Sci Ani (Science Animated) to explain the scientific paper by Cacciatore, Johnson, and Cohen. The animation illustrates the paper’s central proposition, that changes to postural tone and body schema underlie many of the reported benefits of the Alexander Technique. It […]
Category: Study Summaries
A Scientific Investigation into Violin and Viola Playing
Guest author Dr. Alison Loram describes her Master’s Thesis research about the effect of Alexander Technique inspired interventions on patterns of movement and tension.
Study Summary: What We Do Before the Thing We’re Doing—Research on Anticipation, Inhibition, and Posture.
This post summarizes research by Jason Baer, Anita Vasavada, and Rajal Cohen, “Neck posture is influenced by anticipation of stepping,” published in Human Movement Science in 2019. It was originally published at Alexander &. A common reason people study the Alexander Technique is to improve their posture. Many students are […]
Study Summary: Alexander Technique Lessons Reduce Knee Pain and Co-contraction in Subjects with Knee Osteoarthritis
This post summarizes research by Stephen Preece, et al, “Reductions in co-contraction following neuromuscular re-education in people with knee osteoarthritis,” published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders in 2016. It was originally published at Alexander &. A study on the Alexander Technique and knee pain was published last month [Editor’s note: August, 2016] in […]
Study Summary: “Lighten Up” or “Pull Up”? Alexander Technique-type Instruction and Parkinson’s Disease.
This post summarizes research by Rajal Cohen, et al, “Lighten Up: Specific Postural Instructions Affect Axial Rigidity and Step Initiation in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” published in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair in 2015. It was originally published at Alexander &. Word came last week [Editor’s Note: February, 2015] about a new study published in […]
Study Summary: How Posture Interferes with Movement—Evidence from Standing Up Slowly from a Chair
This essay by Tim Cacciatore discusses his 2014 study, “Neuromechanical Interference of Posture on Movement: Evidence from Alexander Technique Teachers Rising from a Chair,” published in the Journal of Neurophysiology. The study documents the striking difference between healthy, untrained subjects and Alexander teachers in standing up unusually slowly and smoothly […]
Study Summary: Twister—Measuring How Alexander Technique Lessons Affect Postural Tone
How do you measure postural tone? In this essay, Tim Cacciatore and Korina Biggs describe Cacciatore et al’s 2011 study, “Increased dynamic regulation of postural tone through Alexander Technique training,” published in Human Movement Science. The researchers use a novel device, dubbed “Twister,” to detect marked differences in background postural […]