Back pain is everywhere. Here’s some quick stats for you to get your head around:
At any one time 26% of Australians are suffering from back pain.
80% of the Australian population will grapple with back pain at some point in their life.
The direct cost of back pain in Australia alone is around $1 billion annually (to get treatment) and up to $8 billion annually in knock-on costs (1).
Everyone knows someone who suffers or personally suffers from back pain. There are endless health professionals therapists out there who offer treatment, relief and cures for your symptoms but which ones work? Do you have to keep going back, week after week, month after month?
What if we could empower you to treat your own body? To understand the reason for your symptoms and make yourself feel better?
The Mckenzie Method is a clinically proven assessment method which can be used for the whole body. It is simple and effective and most importantly gives you skills and the ability to look after yourself.
So what is it? Well, most musculoskeletal pain is mechanical in nature, meaning there has generally been a force which has created the injury to begin with. And if a force has created the injury then there is generally a force which can help make it better. Simple hey? When you see a trained McKenzie therapist they will spend time working out the cause of your injury and then investigate the best movement for treatment and prevention. You will leave with an exercise or two which will aim to reduce your symptoms immediately. Sometimes this is simple and other times requires a some careful investigation.
Let me give you a little starter.
Are you currently sitting at your desk? Is your back starting to ache? If so, stand up and gently arch your spine backwards. How does that feel ? If your body thanks you then keep going, do ten repetitions of this movement and return to your chair.
How did it work?
Most people sit with a flexed (rounded) spine for prolonged periods of time, loading body tissues in one direction. The arching exercise simply balances the flexion load with some extension load, and helps normalise the tissues.
If this doesn’t feel immediately good then it may not be the exercise for you. But with some assessment and guidance your physiotherapist can help you find the exact right balancing movements for your body.
Listen to your body! Its generally trying to tell you something.
Authored by Kimberley Wilson
In the last 10 years I have used this McKenzie method to successfully manage thousands of injuries.
