Efficacy of the use of the McKenzie and Vojta methods to treat discopathy-associated syndromes in the pediatric population

Abstract

Objectives: This paper evaluates the efficacy of using the McKenzie and Vojta methods for patients with low back pain and the use of the DIERS Formetric 4D system as an objective diagnostic tool. Material and Methods: The study enrolled 28 patients aged 15-17 years old. The patients were hospitalized at the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of the Świętokrzyskie Center for Pediatrics in Kielce with a diagnosis of back pain associated with a discopathy. The patients were rehabilitated according to the McKenzie and Vojta methods. Assessment by means of the DIERS Formetric system had taken place before the first therapy session and on the day that pain was eliminated to evaluate trunk inclination, angle of thoracic kyphosis, angle of lumbar lordosis, lateral deviation, trunk torsion, surface rotation and pelvic obliquity. Pain intensity and change in pain intensity over time were assessed by means of a numerical rating scale. Results: Pain intensity was reduced to 0 over 3-12 days. The study participants demonstrated reduction in anterior trunk inclination of the mean value at 1.83°. The angle of thoracic kyphosis was also reduced by 7.95°. The angle of lordosis increased by 7.6°. The lateral spinal curvature was reduced by 8.92 mm. There was a reduction of 4.64° in trunk torsion. Surface rotation was reduced by 1.61° and pelvic obliquity was reduced by 3.78°. Conclusions: In discopathic patients, postural parameters comprising trunk inclination, angle of thoracic kyphosis, angle of lumbar lordosis, lateral deviation, trunk torsion, vertebral rotation and pelvic obliquity fail to reach Hartzmann's physiological reference ranges. A therapeutic intervention based on the Vojta and McKenzie methods may normalize the posture to physiological reference ranges and is effective in the treatment of patients with back pain. The DIERS system is an objective tool for tracing the effects of therapy in patients with back pain.

Types of improper child carrying

“…5 Too excessive thoracic kyphosis and too shallow lumbar lordosis correlate with the occurrence of discopathy, which is a serious clinical problem in older children. 6 This position is also accompanied by hyperextension of the head and shoulders retraction ( Figure 2).…”

Outcomes of active cervical therapeutic exercise on dynamic intervertebral foramen changes in neck pain patients with disc herniation

“…Our subjects demonstrated similar findings when performing an active retraction exercise and increased the foramen area from C2/3 to C6/7 by 6.63–13.51%. This scenario may verify the efficacy of the retraction exercise for relieving the nerve compression within an intervertebral foramen [ 15 , 16 ]. Although there is not much dynamic imaging evidence indicating this phenomenon, these previous findings and our results coincidentally suggest that therapeutic intervention methods may normalize the posture to physiological reference ranges and may thus be effective in the treatment of patients with neck or back pain.…”

“…Active spinal exercise is a nonsurgical interventional procedure used for treatment of chronic neck and back disorders. The spinal approach postulated by McKenzie indicated that compensatory pressure on the disc in the direction of the lesion can reduce the displacement of the nucleus in the disc [ 16 , 18 , 19 ]. The 8-week spinal therapeutic exercises in the present study mainly included end-range repeated cervical retraction, extension, and lateral flexion movements to the lesion in order to reduce the nucleus displacement and peripheralization inside the disc (Fig.…”

“…Clinical efficacies including pain reduction and functional improvements have been demonstrated [15]. Active spinal exercises are one type of nonsurgical interventional procedure commonly used for treatment of chronic neck disorders [16,17]. Physical therapists frequently instruct patients with active therapeutic exercises, such as cervical retraction, extension, and lateral flexion, to treat spinal dysfunctions [15][16][17].…”

Analysis of Intracerebral Activity during Reflex Locomotion Stimulation According to Vojta’s Principle

“…In this experiment, we decided 15 min of reflex locomotion stimulation time to ensure that a sufficient amount of data was collected for the statistical analysis. However, the duration of stimulation varies across different studies [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][47][48][49][50]. Another study [13] with a similar design showed changes in cingulate cortex, premotor, and supplementary cortical areas during an 8 min-long reflex locomotion stimulation.…”