Flexion responders: when should you introduce flexion loading to your patients?

Primary care physicians frequently see patients with low back pain (LBP). To minimise excessive lumbar flexion, societal attempts to reduce LBP have resulted in more upright work settings. Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy has proven to be reliable among well-trained MDT doctors (Deutscher D, et al. 2014; Kilpikoski S, et al. 2002) and can decrease patient visits while increasing clinical and functional results (Deutscher D, et … Continue reading Flexion responders: when should you introduce flexion loading to your patients?

Problems with back pain: Natural history and disability.

Prevalence rates grew by 17% globally between 2005 and 2015 (Hurwitz 2018). A first episode of low back pain occurring within a year is estimated to occur between 6.3% and 15.4% of the time, with estimates for the incidence of any episode occurring within a year as high as 36%. In the general population, low back pain is thought to affect 23.2% of people within … Continue reading Problems with back pain: Natural history and disability.

Role of MRI in spine physical therapy practice.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected lumbar pathology may be a significant factor in the context of low back pain (LBP) recurrence (M Hildebrandt et al, 2017). Investigating lumbar pathology with MRI, a non-invasive technique is a standard practice in medicine (Milette et al, 1999). Since MRI imaging reveals anatomical and morphologic features of the spine, the results do not directly determine the cause of pain. … Continue reading Role of MRI in spine physical therapy practice.

Anatomical explanation | Why are upper lumbar nerve roots less frequently affected by disc problems, while lower lumbar segments are more frequently involved?

The majority of symptomatic disc herniations are found at the lower two lumbar interspaces, that is, about 50% at L4–5 and 47% at L5-S1 (1). The remaining 3% are found at higher lumbar levels (1). A research study comparing patients with upper lumbar (L1–2 and L2–3) herniations to those with herniations at L3–4, L4–5, and L5-S1, showed that the patients with upper lumbar herniations had … Continue reading Anatomical explanation | Why are upper lumbar nerve roots less frequently affected by disc problems, while lower lumbar segments are more frequently involved?