How Shaw Method can relieve back and joint pain

If you have read our interview with Steven Shaw, or have any experience of Shaw Method swimming you will know what a difference it can make to your health and wellbeing.  As Steven says, “I am often told that Shaw Method swimming has changed a pupil’s life.”

As the Method focuses on correct body alignment, relaxed breathing and avoidance of any kind of strain, it is fantastic for anyone suffering from back or joint pain.  “More and more we’re finding new pupils coming to us from referrals,” says Steven.  Traditionally referrals have come from Alexander Technique (AT) teachers (Shaw Method uses the principles of AT in the water). And many Alexander teachers are  devotees of Shaw Method themselves. Today however, a referral may come from an osteopath, a chiropractor, a physiotherapist, a Pilates teacher or any bodywork practitioner who can see the benefit of a client spending time in the water practising Shaw Method techniques.

Gillian Jordan, a Vice-President of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, was always keen on swimming for herself and her patients, but until she encountered Shaw Method couldn’t recommend any teachers.  “I would always have to ask a patient how they swam before I could recommend swimming to them,” says Gillian. “If they said they kept their head out of the water all the time, I would not recommend swimming to help their mobility.” And there was no sense suggesting they had lessons because all the swimming instructors she had observed didn’t consider body mechanics at all in their teaching.

A chance meeting and some lessons with Steven Shaw 15 years ago changed all that. “It was transformative,” she says. “It absolutely made sense to me.” Gillian made a lot of changes to her own swimming, and whilst she was running her physiotherapy practice was able to refer patients.

“I know many people whose back pain has improved considerably, and I think all musculo-skeletal problems can be helped by Shaw Method,” says Jordan. “It’s great for improving joint mobility because the water gives support.”

It also promotes relaxation, and learning to let go of the joints and/or muscles that give you pain. “Some people who have chronic back pain are movement-averse all the time. They’re afraid that anything they do is going to hurt,” says Gilian. “If they find they can be in the water and move in a way that doesn’t hurt it gives them confidence in their own bodies and how they move.”

And that confidence and freedom of movement can be translated on to dry land.  Roger Golten, a Hellerwork practitioner and Shaw Method teacher sees this concept in motion all the time.  Hellerwork clients come to Roger with a variety of postural and musculo-skeletal issues.  He often takes these clients into the water and is always delighted with the results.

“I can give you a good example,” he says.  “One of my clients has a typical male body shape: big barrel chest and a thick, short neck.  He is marvellous for his age, but I had always had a problem in realigning his neck.  Like many people he carries his head in front of his shoulders, which means that the head is not carried in the easiest possible way.  Nothing I did in the Hellerwork sessions had an effect so I decided to take him swimming.

“When I got him to glide and stand (this involves unrolling your spine from the base up – the feet land first and the head unrolls last) he understood for the first time what I wanted him to do.  For the first time since I met him 25 years ago he is in touch with the possibility of lengthening his neck, and he’s 89 years old.”

Shaw Method, like Alexander Technique, is great at setting the neck free and releasing the back whilst still giving the muscles a work out.

Roger Golten thinks that your back hurts if you have a sedentary lifestyle because it is working too hard.  “People are holding up their fronts with their back and what I’m trying to do is teach them to hold up their backs with their front. Or at least redress the balance.”  Like a lot of bodywork practitioners and physical trainers Roger talks about engaging the core muscles, the deep abdominal muscles especially.

“Swimming is a way to lightly engage the stomach muscles and start using them in a natural way,” he says.  “It’s not like doing crunches or abdominal exercises which can cause more problems than they solve, or simply relaxing the back which can leave the structure unsupported.”

Another benefit of Shaw Method is that it is a mindful way to swim.  You put thought into what you are doing and that builds an awareness of how you are using your body (and mind) in and out of the water.  This concept will not be lost on those with experience of AT.

Interestingly both Gillian Jordan and Roger Golten say that Shaw Method has also aided their understanding of the Alexander Technique.  “I had explored Alexander Technique previously, but learning with Steven in the water just made total sense of it,” says Gillian.

Editor of AT journal Direction, Alexander teacher, and keen SM swimmer Paul Cook is not surprised.  “AT is much easier to understand if applied to something you like to do,” he says. If you are suffering from bad posture, in pain or even invalided the transition to relief may be accelerated by applying AT principles to something you already enjoy.

But it is not just those suffering from joint and back pain who benefit. Over the years Shaw Method teachers have helped many people with disabilities who, like Ed Hamilton, find a new kind of freedom in the water. People recovering from a stroke or other serious illness can also recover their mobility and body confidence with a series of Shaw Method sessions.

Gillian Jordan now has a neurological condition that gives her a lot of pain in her legs, weakness, and some spasticity (involuntary movement). “I can’t walk properly, but when swimming I feel normal and, thanks to Shaw Method, get great satisfaction from being in the water.”

Photo by Douglas Robertson

Roger Golten is running Shaw Method workshops for bodywork professionals on 25 July, 19 September and 17 October in London. Get more information on these sessions from Bodywork Professional Development.

To book a lesson with Steven Shaw call 020 8446 9442 or email info@artofswimming.com