McKenzie Exercises for Lower Back Pain

In short, the McKenzie method was developed in the 1960s by Robin McKenzie, who noted that extending the spine could provide significant pain relief to certain patients and allow them to return to their normal daily activities, by centralising the patients pain, moving it away from the extremities (arms or legs) to the back. Centralising the pain allows the source of the pain to be treated rather than the symptoms.

Exercises will be guided by an initial assessment, but the kinds of exercises you may be prescribed are shown below. The goal, as previously stated, is to centralise the patients pain in the core back structures rather than treat pain that is localised to a specific area. Patients can be expected to achieve centralisation over the course of daily prescribed McKenzie exercises.