Radiculopathy or sciatica is present in numerous cases of low back pain. Most people describe these symptoms as tingling, ants, numbness, mild burning sensation, needles and pins, shooting pain, or electricity that happens around the hip or down the leg.
Some healthcare professionals have come up with a concept called centralization. The basic idea behind this concept is that the pain should move up in the lower back while healing.
This procedure will likely intensify the pain, but this is a clear indicator that the treatment is functioning. In case the leg pain and symptoms are reduced, centralization is working. In the majority of cases, back pain doesn’t increase much by so-called self-reported VAS.
It is good to point out that centralization is a basic concept in the McKenzie method of treatment and assessment and finding evidence to confirm this hypothesis would surely add credibility and relevance to this method.
In 2008, Werneke decided to perform a test that would confirm whether the symptoms reported by patients following centralization were indicators of positive results or not.
Patients suffering from cervical and lumbar syndromes were healed with different methods, not just with McKenzie. The final results were interesting – just 17% of patients showed symptoms related to centralization. These results were probably affected by the type of treatments these patients followed, the time frame in which they had these treatments, and the type of injury they had.
The fact is that centralization was much higher in patients who had more severe symptoms, and patients that were younger and had better health in general.
In patients who had lumbar symptoms, non-centralization was linked to reduced ability on functional task testing and significantly higher pain results. In people with cervical pain, non-centralization was linked to higher pain ratings but all other indicators were the same.
It is good to mention that the number of visits didn’t affect the final results. In other words, centralization likely helps the prediction of pain status and functional status in those with lumbar pain.
Piriformis syndrome, sciatica, and lower back pain are very painful and even though many people have the symptoms associated with these health conditions, the methods used for their treatment are different.
Robin A. McKenzie was a famous PT and an experienced specialist focused on the reduction of pain linked to disc issues. This condition often leads to pain that starts from the glutes and goes all the way down to the toes affecting the entire leg. The specific sensation can be described as tingling or numbing pain that can be felt regardless of your position – standing, lying down, or sitting. It can be felt even when you are walking.
The exercise presented in this video is called the McKenzie press and it has already helped hundreds of people to soothe the pain and centralize this pain in the specific area of the lower back which is very helpful.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:
The video in this article doesn’t provide medical advice. The content in this video is not designed to be a replacement for any professional healthcare diagnosis, treatment, or advice. It is up to you to make the right decision and it is the best idea to consult a licensed healthcare professional before you perform any of these exercises.
Via Spine Health