Mark’s Story
Jan 14
2009
Somewhere in the early eighties, I started having back pain. It was usually in my upper back between my shoulder blades on the left side of my spine. It felt like a pencil was somehow wedged between the vertebrae. When the pain started initially, I went to see a chiropractor for many weeks. Each adjustment would bring some relief, but the pain always returned in a few days.
A couple of years later, I went to see my physician who found nothing peculiar in the x-ray images of my spine. He started me on stretching and strengthening exercises which helped a little bit but never removed the pain. After about 10 years of trying to find relief, I gave up and just accepted the pain for another 10 years. Most days I would be slightly uncomfortable. But once or twice a year the pain was really bad and I’d miss work, lie on my back to relieve the pressure, and take ibuprofen.
In August 2008, I read a study that found the Alexander Technique provided long lasting relief. I had never heard of the Alexander Technique and became very interested. I searched around on the web and found Jamee Culbertson and called her immediately.
After my first lesson, I had a lot of things to think about. Jamee helped me become aware of my body’s alignment and muscle usage by using visualizations and body positioning. I found myself constantly fighting with myself to relax. That was very odd to me because I’ve always thought of myself as a very relaxed and laid back person. Jamee was able to read unbelievably subtle clues to identify which muscles I was holding tight and which ones were relaxed. She taught me to read some of the same clues and make adjustments to how I used my muscles and positioned my body.
During the first lesson, I was following Jamee’s visualizations and relaxing my muscles when my neck popped as if it had been adjusted by a chiropractor, bringing a little bit of relief. After the end of my second lesson, my back pain started to go away but returned quickly. After the end of my third lesson, I could actively make my back pain go away in a couple of minutes and it would stay that way for hours. Frequently my neck and back would pop and crack as I would change the way I was standing and holding my muscles.
After about five or six lessons, my pain was gone. Maybe once or twice a week I would notice it trying to resurrect itself, and I was able to dispatch it within minutes. I was 99% sure I had some physical deformity or injury to my back before I started the Alexander Technique. Now I would say that I was unconsciously and incorrectly using my muscles which caused that pain for over 20 years.
Now, regardless of the cause, I no longer have the pain. Thank you Jamee.
Mark Lundberg, Software Engineer
Tags: Add new tag, alexander technique, boston, boston MA, Concord MA, musician, piano, posture, programmer
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