McKenzie has completely revolutionised how JMPhysio go about assessing and helping people – not because everyone suddenly has mechanical malfunction or that we have an immense love for repetition but because of the McKenzie method’s exceptional reliability in attaining valid answers for the underlying causes of a person’s symptoms. It’s all about pattern recognition and ensuring that we’re aware of what is driving the pain! The reason why repeated movement is valuable in providing answers is because it sets a challenge for the bodily system suspected to be at fault. That system will then either cope with, improve from or retaliate to the various movements tested, and hopefully in a recognisable fashion for which we can provide answers and insight.

The questions we work through before starting any movement testing aims to pick up on patterns in the recent history even if the patient hasn’t noticed any patterns or possible links to other factors up until that point, e.g.:

• Is the pain steadily settling day by day? (This sounds like the body may be effectively healing an injury)
• Is the problem exceptionally consistent? (This sounds structural)
• Is the pain linked to the time of the day or your activity levels? (This could be inflammatory)
• Does the location move around? (This is likely referred from elsewhere)
• Do positions or postures play a role in your symptoms? (This starts sounding mechanical – think movement malfunction)
• Does it have a mind of its own and very inconsistent in its behaviour? (This is highly likely to be mechanical)
• Does the patient have any medical history that is concerning? (Unplanned weight loss or fever? Any personal history of cancer or even new medications known to cause similar symptoms?)

So, after all the questions covering:

• The history of the symptoms
• Your pain’s behaviour,
• Your medical history and
• Anything you’ve tried so far to remedy this…

…we now have information on several possible diagnoses while others have already been ruled out. Your clinician will still have some unanswered questions which may require x-rays or even blood tests but are in most instances best answered directly by the musculoskeletal system. So, unless contraindicated, let the physical and movement testing commence while we keep an eye out for any developing patterns of pain behaviour.

Despite the common approaches which attempt only to relieve pain, we are always interested in what is responsible for the symptoms and if we’re able to control the pain responses going forward because that’s where you get control over the condition. This approach increases the relevance of any treatment, advice and education provided to you.

We haven’t lost the oil, forgotten how to use needles or started fearing strapping tape but we’ve learnt too much from research and experience. So, in spite of change being difficult and even scary at times, we were happy to adapt our approaches to better serve our patients and in the last 3-6 years since adopting and becoming proficient in this approach, we’ve   seen the value it provides in terms of knowledge, empowerment, answers and relief! And we’ve kept the passive options safely hidden inside the practice for select individuals who are not quite ready for this change just yet.

Your health and wellbeing deserve informed, personalised care. For tailored support, please discuss any questions or concerns with your physiotherapist of choice.