Patients Frequently Asked Questions

Any providers in India, who are Credentialled or Diplomated in McKenzie or MDT, will be listed on this website. Credentialled and Diplomated Clinicians have to update themselves at the scheduled timely intervals in order to be kept on the reference list. This is to ensure that when a patient seeks McKenzie method of management, you should get it in its purest form. A Certified McKenzie Clinic will always Diplomate McKenzie clinician 50 % of her/his clinical hours. 

What you should expect to get from any McKenzie clinician practising the McKenzie concept in its purest form is a complete assessment which could last you at least 30-45 minutes, followed by a patient education and management. The McKenzie clinician would not use any hi-tech machines to diagnose the cause of your low back or neck pain, nor treat it. This would be true for patients in any stage, acute, subacute or chronic. Certified Clinicians, either credentialed or diplomated do not use any modalities to rid you of your pain. Neither would you have to register yourselves to repeated physiotherapy exercise programmes to prevent recurrences. 

It is recommended that when choosing a clinician, only those healthcare professionals who are fully Credentialled in the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) should be promoting themselves as proficient, or certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT). To qualify for this certification, clinicians will have completed the McKenzie courses, Parts A through D and also successfully passed the MDT Credentialling  Examination. Physiotherapist who have not completed their A through D courses and passed their examination cannot claim to be a McKenzie therapist.

The McKenzie Institute International runs a programme of certification through formal examination which determines levels of competency in practitioners of the McKenzie system of treatment for mechanical disorders of the back and neck. 

The list of therapists includes those who have demonstrated clinical competency by taking and passing the Institute's Credentialling Examination Cert. MDT. Please do give us a feedback either way, on your experience with treatment using the McKenzie Method. 

The Institute also awards its own Diploma to successful candidates in recognition of the attainment of the highest level of achievement in the Institute's International Programme of Education in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy. Practitioners with this qualification are indicated by the letters “Dip MDT”. After being Credentialled in MDT, the therapist has to apply to an overseas university, attain a pass in the university component, complete a clinical training in one of the clinical venues overseas, attaining a pass in it, finally attaining the pass in the extrinsic examination to attain the Gold Standard. 

Research has suggested that back pain and neck pain is recurrent - in the sense that you will get this pain again, either just low back and neck, or the pain going down your legs or arms.  

Would you like to be dependant on your therapist lifelong whenever there is a recurrence, or would you prefer to relieve yourself of your pain with some simple exercises? 

It is cost effective, because it reduces health care bills.  It is effective because you can reduce your pain anywhere, without your therapist. 

The McKenzie Method is an assessment method, a method of managing patients, which gives the direction to the exercises you must do. It also tells the therapist whether you will respond to the treatment or need to be referred for further investigations. Besides this your McKenzie therapist can make a informed suggestion to you as to the number of sittings you may need with him or her.

Unfortunately, many clinicians claim to “do McKenzie” when in fact they are only using a few of the techniques along with other treatments.  The research shows that unless the clinician has been certified Cert. MDT (ie taken all the courses followed by the exam), and / or completed the Diploma (Dip. MDT) and assess the patient through the McKenzie system, they often are not able to get the results that a fully trained MDT therapist can.

Any physiotherapist who merely uses the McKenzie educational tools and the Original McKenzie products like the Original McKenzie Lumbar or Cervical rolls without formally being trained in MDT or McKenzie is NOT a McKenzie therapist.

The person is encouraged to take an active role in their own recovery with the emphasis being on self-treatment. 

Assessment: On your first visit, a McKenzie trained clinician will give you a thorough examination, which takes anywhere between 30 minutes to 45 minutes. This assessment is designed to determine what may be causing your pain. This will involve an extensive history taking to understand your pain, and having you do specific repeated movements and positions to see how these affect or change your pain. This assessment will not involve the use of any hi-tech machines to diagnose the cause of your low back or neck pain. From this, a personalized treatment program will be designed and taught.

Treatment and Prevention: During the course of treatment, the person is educated how to prevent and manage future problems with their spine or extremities. A custom maintenance program is designed to deal with sudden attacks of pain.

Education: Robin McKenzie was committed to providing education to empower the public to self treat. He published several books on this treatment approach including Treat Your Own Back and Treat Your Own Neck.

A McKenzie clinician practising wholly, using the McKenzie system, would not register you to strength programmes for preventing recurrences, as there is no such suggestion in research that strength programmes can prevent recurrence of mechanical low back or neck pain with or without radiating or referred pain to your limbs. Instead, the McKenzie clinician would educate you on the need for the change in lifestyle and posture care and help you prevent recurrences with posture playing the big role.