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McKenzie Therapy.

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The McKenzie method is now established as one of the most effective and scientifically established approaches to diagnosing the cause of, and effectively treating, back and neck pain. But this was not always the case.

Mid-way through last century, in a small physiotherapy clinic in rural New Zealand, a recently qualified Physiotherapist called Robin McKenzie noticed an unusual phenomenon in some of his patients who had presented to him with excruciating back pain and sciatica.

As the story goes: One day young Robin was busy with a patient in one cubicle of his practice when a new patient with debilitating back and leg pain was shown into the rooms by his receptionist. Being otherwise busy and seeing that the new patient was in some distress Robin suggested that the new client stagger into an adjoining empty cubicle and lie on the bed for a few minutes until Robin was ready to see him.

What Robin didn’t realise was that the bed in the other cubicle had been left so that one half of the bed was tilted upwards – turning the bed into a semi-recumbent seat. So a few minutes later when Robin stepped into the cubicle and saw that the new patient had chosen to lie face-down on the bed with his head at the raised end of the bed (this had the effect of bending the man backwards in a prone-lying position) he was horrified and quickly went to drop the raised section of the bed to restore the bed to a fully horizontal position. At this the patient got quite upset and told young Robin not to touch the bed as this was the first few minutes that he had been without excruciating leg pain for several days!!

This observation that arching the low back strongly backwards could be helpful in removing sciatic pain flew in the face of the established therapeutic wisdom of that time. Yet to his everlasting credit Robin McKenzie didn’t simply ignore this incident as a strange quirk, or as a one-off unexplainable event, he started to explore it as a treatment option.

To his surprise he found that with a certain group of patients with significant low back pain and sciatic symptoms he could cure their problems by using a variety of positions and exercises that emphasised back arching – or lumbar spine extension.

Over the following years Robin McKenzie further explored the mechanics of the whole spine, its joints and discs and travelled all over the world to study under the spinal “gurus’ of that time. The result of his studies was the publishing of his first book and the beginning of a revolution in how we now look at the treatment of pain that originates in the back or neck.

These days to become a “McKenzie Therapist” a Physiotherapist has to complete a rigorous post-graduate course in the physical causes and treatment of back and neck pain and has to pass an exam that is set by the Mckenzie Institute International.

At Sports Lab anyone that has a long, complex or repetitive history of back or neck problems is recommended to spend at least an hour with one of our McKenzie Physiotherapists.

As a patient you can expect individual 1:1 time with the therapist. You will be thoroughly physically examined and the outcome of the examination and your options will be explained to you.

A measure of the standing of the reputation of the work that we carry out is that there are now surgeons who refer their clients here for a McKenzie assessment prior to deciding on whether or not to carry out surgery.

The Sports Lab Advantage is 1-hour of 1:1 time with our McKenzie Therapist such that complex or difficult cases receive the time and expertise needed.