Evidencia en el manejo del dolor de espalda crónico con el método McKenzie

Objective

To review the scientific evidence published on the McKenzie method for back pain.

Research strategy

A search was made in the Medline database, and on the McKenzie Institute website, and the evidence published by May and Donelson (2008) was analyzed.

Studies and data selection

The search was limited to the last five years. A reverse search and a manual filtering (as a function of the level of evidence) focused on extracting results closely related to the subject under research were performed.

Results summary

Evidence on the different aspects of the McKenzie method has been found: inter-examiner reliability as exploratory method, specificity of the centralization phenomenon, and effectiveness compared to other treatments.

Conclusions

The McKenzie method has similar effectiveness as that of stabilization exercises with a favorable tendency in comparison with strengthen-building exercises. The centralization phenomenon has a positive prognostic value. The method present high reliability as an exploratory method.