The system of patient care known as the McKenzie Method® of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy® (MDT) is an approach that is trusted and used by clinicians and patients all over the world for common back, neck and extremity musculoskeletal problems.
Most musculoskeletal pain is affected by everyday activities, movements and postures. Some of these can aggravate the pain and some may bring relief. By a systematic evaluation of his patients, New Zealand physiotherapist Robin McKenzie found that certain movements and postures could often provide a strategy for patients to control or eliminate their own pain and restore their function.
Robin McKenzie identified that most patients could learn to treat themselves if guided appropriately and given specific education. He felt that self-treatment empowered patients and reduced their dependency on medical intervention. The McKenzie Method® promotes the patient's potential to self-manage with less or no medication and without surgery or other passive modalities such as heat, ice or ultrasound therapy. It also addresses a growing demand from patients and third-party payers for professional rehabilitation services that develop the patient's self-treatment skills in a cost-effective and time-effective manner.
