Q: My neck pain comes and goes, depending on the weather, and has for a few years. I have found certain exercises that help and others that make the pain worse. A co-worker told me about Mechanical diagnosis therapy. What is it and can it help?
— El Paso, TX.

 

 

A: Mechanical Diagnosis Therapy also known as the McKenzie Method is a spinal technique that teaches how to safely and effectively reduce neck pain and improve neck function.

The goal of mechanical diagnosis therapy is to:

• Assess
• Treat
• Prevent back and neck pain

This puts you in a position to control the pain. This technique can also help with joint problems that cause

• Shoulder
• Hip
• Knee pain

Exercises that help reduce neck pain are highly beneficial, especially combined with chiropractic, physical therapy, rehabilitation treatment plan. But, mechanical diagnosis therapy definitely would be worth trying out for relief and prevention of neck pain. This method finds a key exercise that you can do to control the pain, which can be more effective than other exercises.

This is known as the directional preference of movement and can hold the key to reducing pain.

The best results have been demonstrated with patients who work with chiropractors and physical therapists who have completed training and passed a standardized examination by the McKenzie Institute.

 

 

Chiropractic/Physical Therapy session that incorporates Mechanical Diagnosis Therapy:

• A physical therapist or chiropractor will perform a detailed assessment. Your health history, neck pain, and other symptoms.
• The therapist instructs the patient on how to perform specific, structured exercises.
• This helps determine what movements or positions cause the neck pain and which positions and movements are more comfortable, and help reduce symptoms.
• Patients often show signs of centralization. This is when the original pain in the neck is felt in other parts of the body like the arm or hand and radiates toward the spine from specific positions or movements.
• The chiropractor/therapist will create a customized exercise plan that the patient will do at work/home to reduce neck pain and other symptoms.
• Every patient’s plan is different and completely individualized to treat your specific neck pain.

After the first appointment, the patient will perform the exercises themselves. But depending on the treatment plan, chiropractic exams could be implemented for 3 to 4 weeks to monitor progress. As these appointments are fulfilled the chiropractor could add or alter the exercises as the pain and symptoms reduce and range of motion increases.

Doing these exercises regularly will help reduce neck pain and prevent it from worsening.

The exercises can be performed quickly and easily so they become a part of the patient’s regular routine. A chiropractor/therapist will work with the patient to design a simple but effective exercise plan that fits into their schedule. The chiropractor will also teach ways to prevent aggravating neck pain by avoiding positions and other activities not thought about.

Mechanical Diagnosis Therapy can create tools to help reduce and prevent neck pain along with other symptoms. Most of the time, a few sessions are all that is needed to see benefits. Results happen rather quickly, especially as the patients are managing their neck pain between visits with their chiropractor.

As El Paso’s Chiropractic Rehabilitation Clinic & Integrated Medicine Clinic, we passionately are focused on treating patients after frustrating injuries and chronic pain syndromes. We focus on improving your ability through flexibility, mobility and agility programs tailored for all age groups and disabilities.

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Whiplash Neck Pain Treatment El Paso, TX. Chiropractor

 

 

Shane Scott was involved in an automobile accident when he heard about Dr. Alex Jimenez from a friend. After experiencing headache, neck and low back pain, several days after the incident, Shane’s quality of life, was tremendously affected. Thankfully, treatment with Dr. Jimenez helped Shane return to his normal life. Shane recommends Dr. Jimenez as the non-surgical choice for neck pain treatment.

Neck pain (or cervicalgia) is a common problem, where two-thirds of individuals will experience neck pain some time in their lives. Neck pain can be brought on by numerous other spinal issues. It can arise from muscle tightness in either the neck and upper spine or pinching of the nerves in the cervical vertebrae.

 

NCBI Resources

A chiropractor evaluates the spine as a whole because other regions of the neck (cervical), mid-back (thoracic) and low back (lumbar) can be affected as well. Along with treating the spine as a whole, chiropractic treatment is geared toward the entire body and not just symptom/s. Chiropractors will also educate on nutrition, stress management, and lifestyle goals in addition to treating neck pain.