20 August 2008, NHS Choices website 

Extensive coverage has today been given to a study that found the Alexander technique – a method of teaching improved posture – is beneficial for easing back pain. The study on the technique involved over 500 people with chronic back pain from general practices across the UK. It found that people who received one-to-one instruction in the Alexander technique, along with exercise, had reduced back pain and improved disability after one year compared to those receiving standard care. More.

Two studies followed on from this one. The first, also published in the British Journal of Medicine, was on cost effctiveness. A short piece in the OnMedica blog, On the Pulse, on 9 January 2009 said:

Alexander Technique is economical in back pain
A few weeks ago, this column mentioned the encouraging results of a trial of Alexander Technique for the treatment of lower back pain. A follow-up paper from the same group in the BMJ examines the health economics of this approach, and perhaps unsurprisingly, also reports positively. An exercise prescription alone offered best value in purely financial terms (£2847 per QALY gain). But the combination of six lessons in Alexander Technique followed by exercise was far more effective in terms of pain-free days, and still cost only £5332 per QALY gain, where £20,000 is considered a standard threshold for cost-effectiveness. Seems quite a bargain.

December 23, 2009
Alexander technique 'preferred to exercise' for back pain. More.