By: Jean Johnson for Back1“Although the McKenzie Method was introduced in 1959, it was not taught at medical schools until recently,” said clinical associate at the Center for the Spine in the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Peter B. Sinks, M.D. “So, not all physicians are familiar with it. There are other types of exercises for back pain, but in my opinion, this is the best.”
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Know Your Symptoms
As Peter B. Sinks, M.D. notes, patients need to make sure of their diagnosis before adopting specific treatments like the McKenzie exercises since they would not be appropriate for fractures, infection, or cancer.
In rare cases, back pain can signal a serious medical problem. You should see a doctor immediately if your back pain:
Causes weakness, numbness or tingling in one or both legs
Follows a fall, or other injury
Does not stop or is intense, especially when lying down
Spreads down one or both legs
Causes bladder or bowel problems
Is associated with a fever or abdominal pain
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Sinks continues to explain why he likes the McKenzie Method, an approach to treating back pain developed by New Zealand physical therapist Robin McKenzie. “Chiropractors manipulate the spine, which is essentially what the McKenzie exercises do. The reason I prefer the McKenzie Method is that it teaches patients to take care of themselves rather than relying on frequent visits to a healthcare provider.”
How It Works
Practitioners trained and certified in the McKenzie Method, who are most often physical therapists, evaluate patients using specific criteria. Verbal histories and general physical assessments provide clinicians with some background surrounding the particular patient’s back pain.
Then, as physical therapist on staff at Bellevue Hospital in Ohio, Tony Lombardi, P.T., explained, “The patient is then given an extensive examination including a posture exam and a range-of-motion (ROM) assessment. During the repetitive ROM their response is carefully monitored.”
The idea is to pinpoint the precise area of pain so that exercises can be tailored specifically to the type of pain presented. While many who have heard of the McKenzie approach think it is merely a set of exercises, it is really a program of assessment, treatment, and prevention that is most successfully undertaken with a physical therapist. That said, it is true that fundamental to the McKenzie Method is self-healing and self-treatment.
But first carefully- tailored exercises around flexion and extension of the spine are developed by the therapist, who in turn educates the patient about their practice and use.
“On average the goal is to seek full relief of symptoms within six visits to a therapy clinic,” said Lombardi. “But this can vary depending on how long the condition has manifested, the severity of the problem, and patient motivation.”
Lombardi added that “Before a patient finishes physical therapy, they are instructed on an exercise program to keep symptoms from returning, usually one or two simple exercises. Even if the symptoms return, the patient will have the knowledge of how to treat the situation before it becomes a bigger problem.”
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