Do You Know of the "Little Known Physiotherapy Method" That Has Helped Millions Around the World?

What is McKenzie Physiotherapy And How Can It Help Your Back Pain?

Most people have heard of physiotherapy. The Australian Oxford Pocket Dictionary defines it as "treatment of disease or injury by exercise, massage, heat, light, electricity etc, not by drugs." In some countries such as the USA, physiotherapy is known as physical therapy.

So what do you expect when you go to a physiotherapist with back pain? Obviously as human beings we are all different so we look at things with our own unique perspective and past experiences. The other thing to consider is the therapist. They all have different training and expertise. The other thing to consider is that there are many different theories and treatment methods out there for the treatment of such a common problem. You could go to 100 different therapists and you would probably get 100 different reasons to the cause, the structure that is causing the pain and the treatment that is required in order for you get better.

So, going back to physiotherapy and back pain - when you attend you expect that you will lie on the bed and the therapist will actually do something to you i.e. push or pull and then you may expect a machine that tingles, a hot pack that warms you up a bit and maybe a bit of ultrasound which means the therapist puts a bit of gel on the area where you feel the pain and then they move a metal hammer like object over the painful area. At the end of the session, you will probably be shown some exercises. There could be 2 or there could be 4 or 5 different ones. The question is....will you do them? Will you have time in your busy schedule? If you are like most people you probably won't because you may question whether they will really work or you don't see the value of them and they will interrupt you already busy schedule.

So, what is McKenzie Physiotherapy and how is it different? McKenzie Physiotherapy involves some aspects of standard physiotherapy such as exercise and posture but it does not involve machines or massage. It has some very unique aspects to it that make it a very powerful system which means whether you are seeking treatment from a McKenzie therapist in the UK, Japan, the USA or Australia, all McKenzie therapist are speaking the same language and the treatment or management strategies follow a proven and established path.

So, what should you expect when you consult with a McKenzie therapist? What typically happens is the therapist will ask you a number of questions in order to identify a pattern to your problem. The unique aspect is you will then undergo a repeated movement assessment which means you will perform a number of movements in one direction and then repeat a number of movements in another direction. This enables the therapist to find out the big picture of what is happening and to classify your pain problem according to one of 3 mechanical syndromes.

The most common syndrome is called a derangement syndrome which means an "internal derangement causes a disturbance in the normal resting position of the affected joint surfaces. Internal displacement of articular tissue of whatever origin will cause pain to remain constant until such time as the displacement is reduced. Internal displacement of articular tissue obstructs movement." What this means in simple language is that clinically some movements will generally make you feel better therefore reducing the internal derangement or displacement and some movements will make you worse thereby increasing the displacement. The aim of the repeated movement testing is to find out what one exercise you need to do and the movements you need to avoid (in the case of the derangement syndrome which is the most common.) Performing this one exercise may result in an immediate reduction in pain and increase in movement. I.e. as you repeated the movement the pain gets less and less and you find it easier and easier to move and therefore function.

The patient is then instructed to perform this one exercise every few hours during the day. The exercise provides is analogous to pain medication. If you are hurting, do the exercise with the aim of reducing the pain. Patients are motivated to do the one exercise because they typically feel an immediate reduction in pain (with the derangement syndrome) and in this instant gratification world, an immediate benefit is what we are all looking for.

Postural correction using a McKenzie lumbar roll in the small of the back is typically another important element in the treatment of the derangement syndrome.