thoracic spine, weak neck flexor muscles, strained
scarred upper trapezius muscles, poked chin posture,
etc.) that force the C0/1 joints into extension until
they freeze also need to be countered, or the problem
will rapidly return. The Backpod
®
programme covers
each of these necessary components in turn. It is also
available as free videos on our website
www.backpod.co.nz.
Backpod
®
in conjunction with manual
physiotherapy, the McKenzie approach, Mulligan
and Maitland techniques, etc.
The Backpod
®
fills a gap in physiotherapy techniques
for the common excessively kyphotic thoracic spine.
The patient can use it for a stretch lasting several
minutes, which is much more effective on chronically
shortened collagen than a few seconds of, say,
Maitland PAs. It can stretch tightened costovertebral
joint capsules in the same sustained way. Hands-on
manual techniques and manipulation can apply
greater force to unlock a chronically jammed joint, but
a sustained stretch is needed to stop the surrounding
tightened collagen just freezing it up again. The
Backpod
®
can provide this, with sufficient leverage, and
in the patient’s own home. A rolled-up towel or tennis
ball usually can’t.
In my experience the McKenzie treat-your-own-back
approach is brilliantly effective for treating bulging
lumbar discs. However, the thoracic spine is reinforced
and splinted to a fair extent by the rib cage and chest
muscles. So repeated active movements by the
patient alone cannot bring as much force to bear on a
specific vertebra here as they can in the low back. The
Backpod
®
enables the patient to bring the necessary
much greater leverage to a section of thoracic spine,
and they can do it at home in their own time. The
McKenzie approach does include appropriate therapist
hands-on mobilisation, of course. The Backpod
®
is a
valuable addition to these techniques for the thoracic
spine.
Sub-group of straight or concave thoracic spines.
The common manipulation techniques (vertical
downward thrust on the thoracic spine or ribs with the
patient lying prone, ‘knee-in-the-back’ or variants, ‘dog
technique’ body drop onto the supine patient with the
therapist’s fist underneath) are all appropriate for an
excessively flexed hypomobile thoracic spine. They
jolt the joints in an extension direction to reduce that
excessive flexion.
However, there is a small subgroup of patients with
thoracic segments locked in extension, indicated
clinically by a straight or even concave section of the
thoracic spine. These manipulations don’t help these
segments much, as they tend to shift the joints further
into the range they’re already locked in. There is a
logical and simple solution – see page 17: ‘Backpod
®
for straight or concave thoracic spines’.
16
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