Part 4- Evidence behind McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis and therapy

Directional preference research: Wernecke et al. (2011) define directional preference as either (1) a specific direction of trunk movement or posture observed during the physical examination or (2) a specific aggravating or easing factor reported by the patient during the subjective history that alleviates or decreases the patient’s pain, with or without the pain moving or increasing the patient’s lumbar ROM. It is possible for … Continue reading Part 4- Evidence behind McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis and therapy

Part 2- Evidence behind McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis and therapy

Evidence Regarding the Evaluation Process A systematic assessment of 48 reliability studies on non-specific low back pain physical examination procedures conducted on patient populations found that the majority of procedures had weak reliability (May S. 2006). With a kappa/intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.85 as the maximum criterion, most procedures exhibited either conflicting evidence or moderate to strong evidence of low reliability. Only the technique of … Continue reading Part 2- Evidence behind McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis and therapy

Part 1 of an overview of The McKenzie method as an assessment and management tool

The McKenzie technique of mechanical diagnosis and therapy is a one-of-a-kind diagnostic and management approach. Robin McKenzie described the procedure first for lumbar spine disorders [McKenzie RA. 1981] and later for cervical and thoracic problems [McKenzie RA. 1990]. The approach uses repetitive motions while monitoring symptomatic and mechanical reactions as the primary source of information in the physical examination and then uses these responses to … Continue reading Part 1 of an overview of The McKenzie method as an assessment and management tool

Which method reigns supreme, McKenzie or Back School?

In 1995, Stankovic, et. al., sought to compare the effectiveness of the McKenzie method and patient education through “mini back school” in treating acute low back pain over a 5-year period. Prior to this study, the 1-year results had already been published, prompting further investigation into the durability of treatment outcomes. The study comprised 89 subjects, including 22 women and 67 men, with an average … Continue reading Which method reigns supreme, McKenzie or Back School?

Lumbar Facetogenic pain

If your patients are having low back pain, it might be due to a number of factors, including lumbar facetogenic back pain. Facetogenic pain refers to discomfort that originates in the spine’s zygapophyseal joints. Prevalence: The prevalence of zygapophyseal joint pain has been estimated to be 15% of 76 (Schwarzer et al., 1994b) and 40% of 63 (Schwarzer et al., 1995b) chronic back pain patients. … Continue reading Lumbar Facetogenic pain