Extending our reach beyond the spine
You know how effective the McKenzie Method is for managing spinal pain. Now the McKenzie Institute is expanding its teachings to the human extremities. Robin McKenzie once again has drawn upon the principles he has refined over decades to provide clinicians with this sensible approach for extremity musculoskeletal conditions. The same logical assessment process is used to determine mechanical causes of the extremity pain or symptoms that can respond to an effective self-treatment regime. The McKenzie Institute's Human Extremities course will increase your repertoire in the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy so that you can send even more patients down the road to better health and better living, with less pain.
Increased patient involvement
A great number of people have persistent or recurrent musculoskeletal problems that are either resistant to treatment or respond only temporarily. For this reason, we need to focus not on what we can do for our patients, but what they can do for themselves—with exercise therapy. Patients have a significant role to play in their own rehabilitation—and you are their best advocate to bolster the patient's confidence in their abilities. Only they can influence the state of the tissues repeatedly and regularly day after day. But they need to be well educated in the appropriate behaviors. Through your supervision, you can ensure that healing is not disrupted and that the environment for recovery is optimal.
A unique method
McKenzie's thorough assessment process will determine responders and non-responders with extremity problems. When a proper mechanical diagnosis is the result, the appropriate treatment can be given to the patient. Again, the McKenzie Method will classify the patient according to the mechanical syndromes. From this classification, the therapeutic management can be structured to suit the patient's needs. The therapist can then educate the patient with an understanding of his or her problem, as well as the role of movement in their rehabilitation, while providing them with instructions in the appropriate self-treatment.
The Human Extremities Course
The intensive two-day course consists of lecture, analysis of case studies, clinical reasoning, problem solving and heavy emphasis on assessment and treatment of patients—a trademark of McKenzie courses. The goal of this course is to provide introductory knowledge and basic skills and abilities to begin to:
- appropriately apply the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy to patients with extremity problems;
- distinguish between the McKenzie Syndromes (Postural, Dysfunction, and Derangement) as applied to the extremities, and provide appropriate treatment regimens for each of the syndromes and their sub-classifications;
- identify when the application of external forces or external stabilization is required for the resolution of symptoms using McKenzie's "progression of forces" concept;
- assist patients to design and apply the therapeutic processes on their own to maintain treatment goals; and
- distinguish non-mechanical disorders and provide appropriate advice.
Courses
