89
Views
3
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Paper

Impact of the Alexander technique on well‐being: a randomised controlled trial involving older adults with visual impairment

, PhD MSpEd, , PhD MPH BApplSc, , PhD AStat, , MIPH & , PhD MPH BOptom
Pages 633-641 | Received 24 Jan 2016, Accepted 15 Nov 2016, Published online: 15 Apr 2021
 

Abstract

Background

Older adults with visual loss have high rates of depression, restricted participation and reduced quality of life. We sought to measure the impact of lessons in the Alexander technique on vision‐related emotional and social well‐being, as secondary outcomes to a study on improving physical functioning in this population.

Methods

This is a single‐blind randomised controlled trial. One hundred and twenty community‐dwelling adults aged 50 to 90 years with visual impairments were randomised to either 12 Alexander lessons over 12 weeks and usual care or usual care. The Perceived Visual Ability Scale, the Keele Assessment of Participation, the emotional subscale of the Impact of Vision Impairment Profile, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and the five‐item Geriatric Depression Scale were administered at baseline and three and 12 months. Participants were receiving services from Guide Dogs NSW/ACT.

Results

None of the validated questionnaires found statistically significant improvements after adjustment for baseline at three or 12 months, although the emotional subscale of the Impact of Vision Impairment approached significance in favour of the intervention group (4.54 points, 95 per cent CI: −0.14 to 9.21, p = 0.06). Depressive symptoms were prevalent and associated with greater impact of visual impairment on emotional well‐being (odds ratio: 1.12, 95 per cent CI: 1.07 to 1.17, p < 0.0001). Faster gait, an indicator of general mobility, was associated with less depressive symptoms (odds ratio: 1.27, 95 per cent CI: 1.06 to 1.54, p = 0.01).

Conclusion

On average, there was no significant impact of weekly lessons in the Alexander technique on social and emotional well‐being, although the emotional impact of visual impairment showed a trend toward less distress in the intervention group. Our data found that emotional distress associated with visual impairment influences depressive symptoms but contrary to expectations, the level of social support received was not significant. Additionally, gait speed is a significant predictor of depressive symptoms, suggesting that general mobility is of importance to the well‐being of older adults with visual impairments.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Sydney, Australia provided substantial ‘in kind’ support.

The Australian Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, Beechworth, Victoria and the FM Alexander Trust, London, UK both provided small grants to support the study.

Michael Gleeson received an Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship from the Australian Federal Government.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Purchase Issue

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 84.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.