Effect of Alexander Technique on Ability to Move from Sitting to Standing
Timothy W. Cacciatore , Omar S. Mian , Amy Peters , Brian L. Day
Journal of NeurophysiologyPublished 1 August 2014Vol. 112no. 719-729DOI: 10.1152/jn.00617.2013
The study compared the ability of healthy untrained subjects against that of a group in rising from a seated position in a chair into a standing position. Quoting from the discussion section:
The results show that young HU [healthy untrained] adults have more difficulty than the cohort of AT [Alexander Technique] teachers when attempting to stand up smoothly from a seated position. HU began by slowly leaning the upper body forward, but just before SO they abruptly sped up followed by a rapid loading of their feet. In contrast, AT showed a gradual, prolonged weight shift to the feet and with only relatively small increases in velocity and feet force around SO. [ … ] The inability to rise smoothly was not related to strength differences or to differences in force distribution between joints. The maximal leg extensor moments were nearly identical between groups, and the slower, more challenging, conditions had the lowest hip and knee extensor moments (see also Pai and Rogers 1990;Yoshioka et al. 2009). This suggests the limitation was in the central nervous system’s control of the action.
It is good that we are getting more controlled studies of the effects of Alexander Technique.
A
