Download Vol. 17, nr. 3, December 2005 (PDF-fil, 6,06 ... - McKenzie

McKenzie
Instituttet
Danmark
program of general exercise with
theraband, toe raises and wall-slide
squats, accompanied by lumbar
ROM exercises performed frequently
throughout the day. When
this is accompanied by a solid
demonstration as to why they do
not need to be worried about their
“discs”, stenoses”,
“degenerations”, “up-slips”, and
“imbalances”, the outcomes are
excellent. McKenzie’s assessment
assures that these patients are inconclusive,
and his dysfunction
model for rehabilitation not only
stresses/loads the tissue regularly
throughout the day, but demonstrates
to the patient that they are
not “ill” and can resolve their lesion
independently.
How do you manage
patient expectations?
The simple answer is education.
It must start the minute the patient
walks into the room. It must ensure
that before the clinician starts
the objective assessment the patient
completely understands the
fact that they are being assessed,
not treated. The patient’s goals,
expectations, and belief systems
need to be addressed early on in
the subjective. As well, if they
understand and buy into the concepts
of self-assessment before
starting the objective assessment,
you will produce a compliant,
dedicated patient. If not, you run
the risk of producing a skeptical,
unhappy one.
What is the future of
Mechanical Diagnosis
and Therapy?
I wish that I had a crystal ball that
would answer this question for
you. My opinion is that we will
see continued growth and recognition.
With this, however, will
come the incorporation of
McKenzie’s method into all the
others, rather than all the other’s
Mekanisk Inkonklusiv—de svære patienter
flocking to McKenzie courses.
This fact of life highlights the importance
of what the current administration,
and advisory boards
for the McKenzie Institute have
been trying to do. The push on
“Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy”,
the consolidation of Institute
rules and regulations, goals and
objectives, and the fostering of scientific
research and relationships
with scientists has set the McKenzie
approach into a position that will let
it benefit from these events rather
than be set back by them. Having
said this, McKenzie first began
teaching in the United States in the
late 1970’s, and published his first
textbook for clinicians in 1981.
The scientific support came slow
initially, however, has been on a
steady growth path for the past decade,
and en masse is well in support
of the method. In fact, more in support
than with any other approach.
This accompanied by what we see
in the clinic would suggest that patients
should be lined up outside our
clinic doors, and clinicians should
be on waiting lists for courses all
over the world. We do not see this
happening which in turn suggests
that if this approach is to become
universal, the bulk of the work is
yet to be done.
In 1991, McKenzie decided to train
chiropractors. His reason was simple,
they see a lot of spinal patients,
and his work was about the patients.
He also stated in his textbook
(1981) that ultimately society
would decide the course of treatment
for these problems that we
serve. I believe that both of these
postulates are still true. What we
do is for the patients, so McKenzie
clinicians must continue to practice
the approach properly. If this occurs
en masse it will grow in popularity
and necessity. So in answer
to your question about the future of
Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy,
“ultimately society will decide”.
Thank you for the opportunity to
speak to your newsletter. It has
been a pleasure to put down
thoughts of things that I have not
considered for some time.
Mark Miller
Volume 17. nr. 3. December 2005 McKenzie Institut Danmark, Nyhedsbrev 42