(Denison, IA) – Brian Koeppen, DPT, CMT, has received his certification in the McKenzie Method of physical therapy. Koeppen has been a physical therapist for 13 years, with the past 4 years at Crawford County Memorial Hospital.

The McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) is an internationally acclaimed method of assessment and treatment for spinal and extremity pain developed by New Zealand Physiotherapist Robin McKenzie. It has been widely used all over the world for more than 30 years.

Koeppen became interested in the McKenzie Method when he was finishing graduate school.

“A number of my clinical instructors were using it at the time. I took my first class in the McKenzie Method in Indianapolis 8 years ago. As I was watching our instructor evaluate live patients, I noticed the success and rapid improvement that the patients were having. I have been on the patient side of the spectrum of therapy too, and the McKenzie Method helped me to get better”, Koeppen said.

The McKenzie Method is a classification system that can be applied to all spinal and non-spinal musculoskeletal problems. It places the patient at the center of healing.

Koeppen noted, “This method has allowed me to treat patients with great success, more than I could have imagined.”

The McKenzie Institute requires all therapists to take 4 classes. The first two are 3-day courses while the final two are 4-day courses for total of 108 hours. Once classes are completed, a candidate undergoes 8 hours of testing for the required knowledge of skills through written exam, practical application, video analysis, and patient scenarios.

“It has taken me almost 8 years of training with the McKenzie Method to become certified. This is a certification that I have set out to attain ever since I became a therapist so achieving this goal has been a huge accomplishment”, Koeppen commented.