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So, you think you know McKenzie? I want you to think again. I fell in love with the concept almost 20 years ago, when a colleague encouraged me to take a certification course. Let’s find out what makes McKenzie so unique.
What is the McKenzie Method?
The McKenzie Method has a simple definition, but it is often misunderstood in and outside of the industry. In layman’s terms, McKenzie practitioners utilize a well-defined examination to determine which direction of movement provides the most pain relief for a patient. For low back pain, the solution could be as simple as lying flat on your stomach with your right leg bent or sitting in a chair with your elbows on your knees!
Any exercise can be classified as a “McKenzie exercise”; however, the misconception is that the McKenzie Method is only extension-based exercises. McKenzie is an evaluation technique to find a direction of effective pain treatment through a progression of different “exercises.”
Similar to many physical therapy techniques, the McKenzie Method was discovered “by accident” and is now a leading treatment for neck, back and extremity problems.
The History of McKenzie
The McKenzie Method® of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy™ was founded by Robin McKenzie, a physical therapist from New Zealand. Through trial and error, he became an innovator in the field for his system of pain management.
The McKenzie Method consists of different evaluation techniques to help physical therapists determine the most effective course of treatment. Robin McKenzie developed a classification system to categorize patients by their signs, syndromes and pain behaviors. Based on your category, whether you have a derangement, dysfunction or postural syndrome, the McKenzie Method is a specific system of management for that condition.
The method involves moving the body into certain positions and/or movements to find which ones ease pain. For instance, if you hurt your back shoveling snow over the weekend and the pain won’t go away, McKenzie Method practitioners will use their evaluation techniques to find a body position/movement that helps to eliminate your symptoms.
McKenzie emphasized self-treatment and wanted other physical therapists to be educators. When patients understand how their body works and how to respond to levels of pain, they are in control of the pain 100% of the time. However, physical therapists are only as good as their patients who do their exercises! When you are in an acute phase, it is commonly recommended that you do your pain relief exercises hourly if possible.
Why Is McKenzie Effective?
Certified McKenzie therapists are huge proponents of good body mechanics. When patients come in to the clinic with pain, there is always a way to track how an injury occurred. Raking leaves, shoveling snow or moving heavy objects are common tasks we all do, but many of us are in too much of a rush to get through our chores to worry about good posture.
If you trigger an existing injury or overdo it performing house or yardwork, the McKenzie Method can help you return to a pain-free life. If you have spinal stenosis and think surgery is the only option, think again! Believe it or not, when you are placed in a certain position by a McKenzie practitioner and perform the exercises that were prescribed, it is common for our patients to experience relief from the symptoms they have been suffering through for years.
Even patients who have been walking crooked for quite some time due to a mechanical problem in the spine can leave our clinic completely straight after an hour of McKenzie treatment.
The McKenzie Method is so unique because if you follow this philosophy, exercise regularly and maintain excellent posture and good body mechanics, you can control your symptoms for the rest of your life.
Does the McKenzie Method Work for Everyone?
At Integrated Rehab, I often tell my patients that I’m a mechanic; I can only fix mechanical problems. The McKenzie Method can assist, but will not take away a long standing neurological issue or a structural problem like arthritis. Also during the McKenzie evaluation, patients that present with signs and symptoms that are not mechanical in nature would require a different course of action. Further diagnostic testing or a visit back to the doctor might be warranted. But in my experience, I feel very confident that the McKenzie Method has successfully directed me to treat patients in the most efficient manner, helping my patients “get better, faster.”
The McKenzie Method fits the clinical presentation for most pain behaviors. In many cases, you do not need surgery, prescription medication or rigorous rehabilitation to overcome pain. Oftentimes, doctors will assume that a muscle or joint is the troublemaker causing back pain, but as I’ll tell you, do not rush to blame a specific tissue as the only source of pain! There are many tissues intertwined in the spine that are all controlled by the same nerves. MRI and other diagnostic tools are rarely used by McKenzie practitioners to guide treatment. The evaluation usually gives the best answer.
The McKenzie Method is very simple to us, but it is very rewarding for our patients. They are really grateful for what you do, so I think those are the most rewarding patients we see.
Contact Americo Rodrigues, PT, OCS, Cert. MDT, CMP, CIDN, today to learn more about taking control of your pain with the McKenzie Method!