Unsure whether to choose a Chiropractor, Osteopath or the Alexander Technique?
Many people with physical problems are looking for a solution that will give them relief. They often ask what differences, disadvantages and advantages there are between Chiropractic, Osteopathy and the Alexander Technique. Firstly, Chiropractic and Osteopathy work by manipulation of body parts, say, by bringing the spine back in alignment. The main difference between the two is that Chiropractors mostly focus specifically on the spine. Osteopaths manipulate other joints also. Both chiropractors and osteopaths, like many complementary practitioners, speak about working with the 'whole body', yet in practice they do not address the body as a whole. Nonetheless, if for example a person’s structure is misaligned, good practitioners of either discipline will recognise how the body's functioning can be upset. They will know how to address the symptoms causing inflammation, pressure on nerves and causing subsequent medical problems.
Working with parts is merely repair. For true prevention, you must address the body as a whole
A good Chiropractor or Osteopath can successfully manipulate the spine back to equilibrium, thereby improving general wellness in the body as a whole. The disadvantage is they don’t complete the whole ‘cause and effect’ scenario - they don’t effectively change the whole body patterns that causes misalignment. True prevention and liberation happens when we remove the root cause, then any cause-effect scenarios further on (the scenarios Chiropractors and Osteopaths address) won’t even play out.
We don’t see the body as parts, we look at the body as an undivided whole
The spine can get misaligned, and manipulation will correct a misaligned part. But more often than not, 'correction' is not permanent. Often, this means people must return for continuing sessions. These ongoing sessions are framed as a necessity - after all you have to see your dentist for 'maintenance'. But this raises an important question: if the misalignment is 'fixed' and then returns, what caused misalignment in the first place? This is the question we help you answer. Most often, misalignment, pains and strains are caused by whole-body habits of movement. The Alexander Technique works by addressing these whole body movement habits, which cause unnecessary and excessive muscular tensions and forces. After all, a spine cannot pull and/or misalign itself. It is muscular forces caused by imbalances and other factors relating to how we operate, that pull the spine or any part out, creating misalignment - as well as other common physical issues.
Even in common cases, a typical ‘accident’, where someone lifts something heavy and suddenly 'pulls their back out', it's almost always the straw that broke the camels back. A jerky, ‘bad’ movement which localises forces in a specific area in an already overly-tense, inefficiently moving person. These 'accidents' are not inevitable bad luck, or 'bad parts' that mysteriously run in families through a 'bad back' gene, they are almost always as a result of poor habits.
Poor habits are often learned in our environment, developed as a result of other behaviours, and/or unconsciously imitating those around us, most typically our peers and relatives. Poor movement habits can cause localised and excessive muscular tension throughout the body. Only muscles can create movement in your body, and they are run by your brain. ie: by you. This is why for many people, spinal manipulation only offers temporary relief. You get manipulated, but your old habits, which affect your muscular system, pull your spine back out of alignment again. There is simply no real prevention being done by Osteopaths and Chiropractors, only good repair.
Complimentary to Chiropractic and Osteopathy
The Alexander Technique works in a unique way. It's an educational approach, not a therapy. We help you discover what you are doing in movement. Often within a few sessions, you discover how you have been going about things which sustained, added to or even caused physical problems. We help you to 'know yourself'. An enthusiastic student can become independent from experts.
Relatively unknown in Ireland, Alexander Technique is well known among professional actors, musicians and performers worldwide. The great music and theatre schools, such as Juliard in New York, have an in-house Alexander Teacher to work with students and performers, achieving balance and economy of movement that's vital to performance. With the Alexander Technique, you are simply learning to move in a way that doesn't cause the 'common' muscular-skeletal problems. A good osteopath or chiropractor can successfully make adjustments to your spine or other parts, but this is likely to ‘come undone’ over time if the underlying movement habits are not addressed. By changing these whole body movement habits, manipulation of parts often becomes unnecessary. You can learn how to change your movement habits and remove pain and strain from your life, relatively easily and often permanently. All it takes is willingness and curiosity.
A proven, cost-effective and long-term solution to physical problems
The British Medical Journal endorsed the Alexander Technique in 2008, when a large-scale trial found that it significantly reduced back pain after as few as 6 sessions. The BMJ noted that when a follow up study was performed one year later, the subjects who received Alexander Technique were still benefiting. This is because the Alexander Technique is something you learn rather than a therapy done to you. Like any skill, you have it for life. Furthermore, the BMJ emphasised the cost effectiveness of this approach compared to other methods, since a relatively short-term period of lessons could have cumulative, ongoing benefits that potentially could last a lifetime.