ReviewCureus2023
The McKenzie Method Is an Effective Rehabilitation Paradigm for Treating Adults With Moderate-to-Severe Neck Pain: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.
Review in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Oxygen-Ozone Therapy and Physiotherapy on Functioning in Patients with Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Prospective Double-Arm Pilot Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Characteristics of high-performing physical therapists managing cervical and lumbar conditions: a mixed methods review.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2026Review
- Article
- Effectiveness of Different Exercise-Based Interventions Combined or Not with Electrotherapy Versus McKenzie Method Alone for Nonspecific Chronic Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Integrating Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy Within Multidisciplinary Biopsychosocial Care for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.Journal of orthopaedics and sports medicine · 2026Article
- Comparison of Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Utility of a Telerehabilitation Programme for the Management of Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Study Protocol.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A Systematic Review on Health Economic Evaluations of Telerehabilitation for Chronic Spinal Pain.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Research Priorities in the Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy Among Diploma Therapists: An International Delphi Study.Cureus · 2024Article
- Effects of a Therapeutic Exercise Protocol for Patients with Chronic Non-Specific Back Pain in Primary Health Care: A Single-Group Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Neck pain is a common musculoskeletal condition frequently managed with numerous conservative interventions. The McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis and therapy (MMDT) is a form of physical therapy evaluation and treatment that aims to improve pain and disability in patients with musculoskeletal pain, including neck pain. To date, no systematic review with meta-analysis has examined the use of the McKenzie MMDT for neck pain. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the McKenzie MMDT in adult patients with neck pain. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed using PubMed, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Full search terms were "McKenzie method" OR "McKenzie approach" OR "McKenzie treatment" AND "neck pain." Inclusion criteria were the use of the McKenzie MMDT, level I randomized control trials (RCTs), adults, and outcomes of pain (0-10 scale) and disability (neck disability index). A total of 11 RCTs met the final selection criteria from 1,955 articles on initial search with 289 patients receiving the McKenzie MMDT out of 677 total patients. For meta-analysis, there was a clinically insignificant but statistically significant improvement in pain (1.14/10 points) in patients receiving the McKenzie MMDT versus control interventions (p<0.02). There was no significant improvement in the neck disability index score between the McKenzie MMDT versus control interventions (p=0.19). For severity of pain, there was a clinically and statistically significant improvement in moderate or severe pain (2.06/10 points; p<0.01), but not in mild-to-moderate pain (p=0.84) when comparing the McKenzie MMDT to control interventions. Overall, the McKenzie MMDT provides very small but statistically significant improvements in neck pain of all severity compared to control interventions. However, the McKenzie MMDT does provide clinically and statistically significant pain improvement in moderate-to-severe neck pain. Use of the McKenzie MMDT did not provide any significant improvement in disability compared to control interventions. This study is the first systematic review with meta-analysis on the effectiveness of the McKenzie MMDT for adult patients with neck pain.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.