In line with its mission, the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony makes every effort to provide reliable medical content supported by the latest scientific knowledge. The additional flag “Checked Content” indicates that the article has been reviewed by or written directly by a physician. This two-step verification: a medical journalist and a doctor allows us to provide the highest quality content in line with current medical knowledge.
Our commitment in this area has been appreciated, among others, by by the Association of Journalists for Health, which awarded the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony with the honorary title of the Great Educator.
The McKenzie Method is a unique way to deal with back pain. Interestingly, it helps not only relieve pain in the short term, but also enables diagnosis and solves the problem of pain in the long term.
Backache affects many people of all ages. Back pain can be the result of both a sedentary lifestyle, working at a computer or standing, professions requiring a tilted position or straining the spine – the back can hurt taxi drivers, housewives, cooks and photographers. Many exercises recommended for strengthening the spine only affect the back and abdominal muscles, helping to maintain correct posture, but not directly acting on pain. McKenzie method is a pain therapy that allows you to remove its cause.
The exercises were developed by a physiotherapist from New Zealand, Robert McKenzie in the 50s of the last century. McKenzie method is one of the best documented methods of rehabilitation of the spine and sciatica (Evidence Based Medicine). Official name McKenzie’s method is Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT).
What is McKenzie treatment?
McKenzie method is based on knowledge of the structure of the spine, diagnosis of places where pain may occur and appropriate exercises to eliminate specific ailments: pain in the spine, cervical spine, sciatica and lumbar. In the McKenzie method the patient’s independence is essential to enable him to diagnose and treat any future pain that may arise.
Exercises within McKenzie’s method are specially designed to influence the spine’s layout and movement, reducing pain.
Treatment of back pain with McKenzie’s method it is based on four basic principles.
The first rule is to perform a test and treatment by repetitive movements. This means that the level and location of pain and tissue damage is determined by observing the body’s response to repetitive movement while standing – under load – or lying down, without load.
The second element McKenzie’s method is centralization and peripheralisation, i.e. inducing appropriate exercises to transfer ailments from the limb to the spine (centralization) or spontaneously spreading the pain from the spine to the limbs (peripheralisation). Depending on the ailments under McKenzie’s method work is done on these phenomena.
Third rule McKenzie’s method is the progression of mechanical force, i.e. the application of mechanical force to treat ailments. As part of therapy the McKenzie method the physician may perform additional movements or surgery, which is also classified as “mechanical force”.
Fourth, the principle used on a daily basis McKenzie’s method there is prevention, education and changing the patient’s habits. McKenzie method it sensitizes the patient to maintain an appropriate posture during everyday activities, which will allow to reduce back pain. While sitting, a pillow or a special roller should be placed under the loins, and every 30-40 minutes, take a break and make bends and backwards. When lifting heavy objects, you should crouch, bend your legs, and do not bend down from a standing position. You should sleep on an even, not very hard, but not soft, mattress, with a shaft covering your hips and waist if necessary to keep your spine straight. Developing appropriate habits of maintaining the proper posture allows you to avoid or reduce pain in the parts of the spine affected by deformation or damage.
McKenzie method – exercises
Under McKenzie’s methodapart from consulting a physiotherapist, we can perform simple exercises at home.
The first is exercise relaxing, lying on your stomach, with your arms at your side, and then supporting your forearms by lifting your head and chest upwards. We stay in this position for 10 seconds and go back to the supine position.
second exercise it is the deepening of lordosis, that is, starting from the supine position, lifting the head and chest until the arms are fully straightened, leaving the muscles of the abdomen, back, legs and buttocks.
Third exercise requires lying on the right side, lifting the left leg and arm a few centimeters parallel to the floor, holding it for several dozen seconds and repeating the movements. Then we change the side and repeat the movements.
Exercise the fourth allows you to strengthen the sides. We do them by imagining that our head is at twelve o’clock on the clock face and our legs are at six o’clock. Extend the left leg at five o’clock and the left arm at eleven o’clock. We hold for ten seconds, then return to the previous position and repeat exercise 5 times on each side.
Exercise the fifth is to stay on the right side and raise the left arm at one o’clock and the left leg at seven o’clock, diagonally in relation to the body. Exercise we repeat five times and work again on the other side.
An important part of the exercises under the McKenzie’s method there is stretching: when you sit down, bend forward and to the sides, towards your feet, holding your toes.