Jano has written about the use of all types of bodywork for chronic pain.

Excerpt from “Bodywork”, Chapter 12 (written by Jano Cohen), in Conquering Chronic Pain After Injury, “An Integrative Approach to Treating Post-Traumatic Pain” by William H. Simon, M.D., George E. Ehrlich, M.D. and Arnold Sadwin, M.D. Avery, New York: 2002.

BODYWORK

By using bodywork techniques [e.g. Alexander Technique], you can reduce many of the effects of physical trauma. The greater your physical flexibility and mobility, the more likely it is that your pain and fatigue will be less. The techniques described in this chapter can be used to complement the medical care you are receiving. They may help bring relief from your symptoms, and they usually are pleasurable. You may want to sample several disciplines to find the ones that work best for you.

“Bodywork” is a general term that refers to the full range of touch therapies. The bodywork techniques described in this chapter can be grouped into four major categories: touch and manipulation; movement education and reeducation; energetic healing; and awareness training, or mind-body control. All of these approaches offer a number of techniques that may help you heal, decrease your pain, and restore your body to its normal level of activity by improving your flexibility and mobility.

After you are injured, performing your daily tasks of living becomes more difficult. Initially, you may have to rest for long periods, and during this inactivity your body will lose elasticity, tone, and liveliness. Then you may move unconsciously in ways that actually increase your symptoms. For example, if you brace yourself to avoid pain, your movement becomes tense and uncoordinated and may put extra pressure on certain parts of your body. Or you may exert too much force to move your body, which increases your pain. You may get very tired and slump; this tightens muscles in the front of your spine and lets the ones in the back go slack. This imbalance distorts the spine and results in extra pressure on discs and nerves. Victims of whiplash often repeatedly stiffen their necks during activity long after the initial injury; others may favor a sprained ankle long after it has healed.

Studying bodywork techniques [especially Alexander Technique] can help you become aware of your destructive movements habits and give you a process to change these habits. You can learn better ways to lift things, do your work, exercise, and move without increasing your pain. You can reduce the effort you use to move, which will help conserve your energy. You can learn not to lock parts of your body together or push them to the end of their range of movement. You can move your whole body in a more coordinated way. You also can learn to rest in more constructive ways and bring new awareness to your body to help it heal.

Always check with your doctors as well as your bodywork teacher or practitioner to see if a technique is safe for you. Some health conditions could cause certain movements or therapeutic techniques to slow your healing or harm your health. These conditions may include bruises, open wounds, infection, excessive edema, advanced diabetes, metastatic cancer, heart disease, or bleeding disorders. If you have a family history of physical violence or abuse, consult a mental-health practitioner before trying any form of treatment that might make you uncomfortable or stimulate unpleasant memories.

MOVEMENT EDUCATION AND RE-EDUCATION

Many forms of exercise and movement techniques that were developed for other purposes may be helpful in improving mobility and easing post-traumatic pain, including the Alexander Technique, the Feldenkrais Method, Somatics, Pilates, and the ancient Chinese arts of t’ai chi [t’ai chi ch’uan] and chi kung (qiqong).