Joel Carbonnel works nothing less than miracles and I cannot recommend him highly enough.

He treated me with a small dose of Alexander technique which was the only exercise I was to do between sessions and a very large dose of Mezieres technique which I found fascinating.

I first encountered the Mezieres method in France and though it’s virtually non existent in the UK, it makes perfect sense and is well used in much of Europe. Having had a few sessions with a Mezieres practitioner in France, I can say that Joel is exceptionally good at what he does.

The practitioner I saw in France was a trained physiotherapist that had more than 20 years of Mezieres technique under her belt and had trained with Mme Meziere. She was nowhere near as thorough and attentive as Joel, who is completely engaged throughout the treatment;  correcting my position, my breathing and pointing out places of tension for me to relax.

The following is an account of the road I traveled back to health, after months of constant, crippling pain, not even the strongest morphine-based pain killers had made the slightest difference.

Jan Feb

5 sessions with a reputed Physiotherapist / Osteopath who finally recommended an MRI and perhaps a cordial epidural of cortisone, (by this time i was traveling by wheelchair)

March April

whilst waiting for the MRI in an attempt to ease the pain I had :

4 sessions with a sports Physiotherapist to no avail

4 sessions with a chiropractor massage therapist with minimal results

The results of the MRI arrived and i was prescribed Amitriptyline, which is an anti-depressant when taken at a does of 50mg and above but a magic pill for nerve pain when at 10mg.

May

With some pain relief i was able to return to work in France and in an attempt to avoid the looming Cortisone epidural, I continued looking for a solution.

I changed my diet, cutting out inflammatory foods as much as possible and my French doctor referred me to a physiotherapist that had 20 years experience of Mezieres technique.

4 sessions of Mezieres gave me hope as for the first time i felt some improvement

June July

Back in England I had to travel for 2hrs for treatment with Joel but I felt results quickly and after just 3 sessions i was able to start reducing the medication.

I have now completely stopped the medication after only 7 sessions and have absolutely no back pain or sciatica.

The MRI and scan had diagnosed a disc bulge with pinching of the nerve at S1 L5 and also at S2 with severe dehydration of the discs, only months ago i was facing the prospect of years of back problems, cortisone injections with the eventual possibility of surgery. Now i can get on with life pain and pill free and i shall never again waste time and money on Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Chiropractors as i have every confidence in Joel’s technique, if you have never tried the Mezieres method and suffer occasional or regular pain then I suggest a visit to Joel.

How soon you forget how miserable you once felt when you are feeling well again. In 2001 I was diagnosed with advanced osteoarthritis in both hips. I was walking with a limp, my legs got easily tired and my knees painful. I could not climb stairs without pulling myself up on the rail, nor sit down or rise out of a chair without holding on to the armrest. I had a constant backache.

I had been told by specialists that sooner rather than later a total hip replacement would be necessary, the prescribed painkillers would, for the meantime, ease the symptoms. However, I was not ready for such invasive treatment, neither did I want to rely on painkillers. I tried alternative therapies with only temporary relief until I came across Jo¸l Carbonnel’s Mézières Method and Alexander Technique.

I finally found a teacher/therapist whose sole aim was not to treat the symptoms. Instead of working on the dysfunction he focussed on correcting and removing the primary cause. The individual weekly sessions could be frustrating at times, demanding and painful. Getting back “into shape” was a slow process. However, I am glad that I persevered. The pain is gone, my posture has improved, I am walking with more flexion and relatively long distances without fatigue, climbing stairs and sitting or rising out of a chair are no longer a problem. In addition I have been educated to observe and be conscious of any misuse of my body and how to remedy it.

Thank you, Joel, surgery has now receded into a dim distance.

Your happy former patient.

I have suffered from back pain since my mid twenties. For many years I used conventional treatment together with chiropractic and osteopathy.
A friend suggested trying the Alexander technique which I have been using for a year and has provided substantial relief and a much improved posture.
Initially, the treatment was tiring but I was determined to succeed and now I feel better than I have done for years.

Forget Botox, forget facelifts! After a lesson of the Alexander technique with Joel , I’ve gasped in amazement at my reflection in the mirror – where was the haggard face, lined and gaunt that has stared back at me, looking all of its 50-odd years or even more on a bad day; instead there’s a youthful woman at least 10 years younger with a smile on her face and a spring in her step, full of optimism and thoroughly enjoying the compliments she’s been paid on her way back, from the rejuvenating experience of Alexander technique lessons.

That woman is me and I suddenly find I’ve got strength I didn’t know I had, flinging open doors which up til now I’d found stiff and heavy (it was my arms and shoulders that were stiff!) and lifting objects grown suddenly light and easy which I could have sworn were heavy and awkward before. No more sweaty gyms or painful sessions of Pilates – I get a much better resulting shape through improved posture which evens out all the lumps and bumps from a badly-aligned spine. The benefits are remarkable – it just goes to show that given a helping hand and an instruction in the right direction, the body can achieve extraordinary things and can grow and develop once set free.