Lower Back Exercise machine

[PTMattI]

Hey guys, I wanted to float a question on this forum....

I used to work (as an aide) at a PT clinic that would prescribe this machine for people with lower back issues ranging from pain to spondylolisthesis. This is the machine: http://www.youtube.com/v/NDT9otJ_X5s&hl=en&fs=1& It is called a med ex and it essentially makes all the motion occur at the lower back because there are restraints at the hips and knees. Resistance is applied to the movement.

Is this a wise exercise selection for a person with low back pain? I have read a bunch of stuff by Stuart McGill and he basically says that all the motion should occur at the hips, and the muscles around the spine should be trained isometrically, basically the exact opposite of what this machine does.

I have asked many people and have heard a wide range of responses, so I am very curious as to what you guys think!

 

[Fiveoboy11]

Patient's are probably better off if those things were pitched in a river. The ortho section of the APTA just published guidlines for treatment of LBP, dependent on patient classification. http://www.orthopt.org/uploads/cont...Clinical_Practice_Guidelines___JOSPT_2012.pdf

 

[kc90]

So basically, is it that APTA doesn't recognize the research done by Stuart McGill?
For the students that are in PT school, is his work often cited when learning about the lower back? How is he perceived in the physical therapist community? His ideas are extremely controversial imo

 

[jesspt]

So basically, is it that APTA doesn't recognize the research done by Stuart McGill?
For the students that are in PT school, is his work often cited when learning about the lower back? How is he perceived in the physical therapist community? His ideas are extremely controversial imo

Uh, McGill is one of the reviewers of the LBP guidlelines.

 

[facetguy]

So basically, is it that APTA doesn't recognize the research done by Stuart McGill?
For the students that are in PT school, is his work often cited when learning about the lower back? How is he perceived in the physical therapist community? His ideas are extremely controversial imo

Uh, McGill is one of the reviewers of the LBP guidlelines.

I was thinking the same thing.

Patient's are probably better off if those things were pitched in a river. The ortho section of the APTA just published guidlines for treatment of LBP, dependent on patient classification. http://www.orthopt.org/uploads/cont...Clinical_Practice_Guidelines___JOSPT_2012.pdf

One of the authors of those guidelines is Paul Shekelle, MD, PhD. A brief historical tidbit (that no one other than me will care about), I remember him as being one of the earlier MDs to publish chiro/spinal manipulation-related research in a mainstream medical journal (early 1990s if memory serves) which was kind of a big deal for chiropractic at the time and for me who was new in practice.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

 

[PTMattI]

So is the med ex lumbar machine something that should be avoided by most patients? I am currently a personal trainer, and will be starting PT school this Summer. I am very interested in this because it was very difficult for me during my time as a PT aide to put patients on this machine when I believed it was causing harm, but I was in no position to question the decisions of the PTs, so I just did what I was told.


Everything I have read / learned during my time as a trainer told me that a machine like that is the worst thing in the world. I try my best to follow and emulate the works of Gray Cook, Mike Boyle and Stuart McGill, and to the best of my knowledge and understanding, they would be harsh critics of this machine. Am I correct in this assumption? If this machine is indeed causing more harm than good, then how come it is still in existence? For example, the chirocpractor my dad goes to just got this machine and they want him to start using it (my dad has a history of LBP) but I told him to say no!