McKenzie Physical Therapy Method

In the late 1950s, a Physical Therapist from New Zealand, Robin Anthony McKenzie developed the McKenzie physical therapy method. Later in 1981 he launched the MDT concept which stands for Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy.

The Mckenzie method is a reliable method to treat conditions that are mechanical in nature. Whether it’s postural syndrome, dysfunction syndrome, or derangement syndrome. The McKenzie method is not just about treatment, though. It’s a complete package of assessment, diagnosis, treatments, and prevention methods for musculoskeletal problems.

Assessment And Diagnosis

The assessment process begins with the Physical Therapist (PT) checking the history of the patient and repeatedly testing the patient’s movement to identify pain responses. The patient is asked to do a series of movements to determine if his condition can be treated using the McKenzie treatments.

For example, a patient who claims to suffer pain on his leg may be asked to repeatedly flex and extend his leg to see if a movement will increase or decrease the pain. The PT will identify the Direction Preference to produce a reliable assessment.

If, after doing the series of movements, the patient’s pain can be centralized and moved away from the extremities then it’s a good sign that the patient’s conditions can be treated using the McKenzie method. However, if they are signs of infections, fracture, or tumor that will not have any benefits from exercise-based treatments the patient will be referred to the appropriate health care provider to receive the appropriate treatments and care.

Treatment

The goals of the McKenzie treatment are to quickly relieve pain, minimizing the risk of future pain, minimizing the number of visits to the therapist, and allow the patient to continue with daily activities.

The McKenzie method does not rely of manual therapy or modalities such as heat, ice, electrical muscle stimulation, or ultrasound. It relies on self-treatment and self-healing instead. The Physical Therapy will teach the patient some exercises based on prior assessment.

Even when two patients are suffering pain on the same part of their bodies, their prescribed exercises may differ depending on their Directional Preference during the assessment. Each patient is unique as well as their treatment.

Prevention

For prevention, the Physical Therapist will teach the patients some exercises that are vital to prevent the problems from happening again. By handing the patients these self-maintenance workouts the patients do not need to visit the Therapist whenever their pain symptoms occur. They will already have the necessary knowledge to quickly overcome the symptoms.

This does not imply that there will be no follow-ups from the Physical Therapists. The patients and the PTs still need ongoing communications to make sure the therapy is progressing well.

Conclusion

If you are suffering from pain on your back, neck, ankle, knee, or shoulder and you don’t want to go through a surgery then the McKenzie Physical Therapy method may be just the thing for you. Visit a Physical Therapist and ask for an assessment. Make sure your Physical Therapist have completed the McKenzie training courses and have expertise in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy.

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