Ep 211 - Extremity Pain: Spine or Periphery? Real MDT Cases with Colin Davies

In this episode of PT Pro Talk, Mariana sits down with Colin Davies, a physiotherapist with more than 50 years of experience in the McKenzie Method and a longtime contributor to the McKenzie Institute, to explore real-world cases where extremity symptoms were linked to spinal movement. 🚨Try Hanna Health free for 30 days - a customizable HEP platform where you can use your own videos, edit quickly, and track patient access. Start your trial here: https://bit.ly/4pSkYjP 💡 In this episode of PT ProTalk, host Mariana Parks speaks with Colin Davies, a physiotherapist with over 50 years of clinical experience who worked directly alongside Robin McKenzie. This interview breaks down how recognizing the spine's hidden role in extremity pain can completely transform your daily clinical practice. From uncovering the true source of recurrent patellar dislocations to solving a professional dancer's 13-year history of hip pain, Colin shares actionable insights to help you look beyond the joint, avoid confirmation bias, and properly assess the spine to unlock life-changing patient outcomes. 💭 “We have to do a better job of examining the spine before we start treating an apparent extremity problem.” - Colin Davies 👉🏻 Colin Davies trained at the New Zealand School of Physiotherapy and graduated in 1971. He worked as an assistant to Robin McKenzie in 1974 before immigrating to Canada, where he has been in private practice since 1979. He became a member of the teaching faculty of the McKenzie Institute International in 1984 and has presented over 300 courses on Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy in 18 countries around the world. He is an examiner for the McKenzie Institute Diploma programme. He served for 15 years as a member of the Advisory Council to the Board of Trustees until October 2009, when he was appointed to the Board of Trustees for the McKenzie Institute International. Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction: Extremity Pain, Spine or Periphery? 07:28 – Colin Davies’ MDT Background and Clinical Experience 10:27 – Case 1: Recurrent Patellar Dislocation and Knee Pain 19:21 – Confirmation Bias and Why Clinicians Should Check the Spine 23:33 – The XPOS Study and Spinal Sources of Extremity Pain 28:27 – Dramatic Changes After Spinal Assessment and Treatment 40:55 – Cases 2 & 3: Professional Dancers With Chronic Hip Pain 52:24 – Key Clinical Signs of Spinal Referral and MDT Assessment 1:09:49 – Final Insights: Why Checking the Spine Can Change Everything 📚In this episode, you'll learn: • How to assess extremity pain using MDT when the source may not be where the symptoms are • Why spinal screening should be part of every lower extremity assessment • How MDT assessment can reveal findings that challenge even the most experienced clinicians • What three real clinical cases from an MDT course in Argentina teach us about referred pain patterns 🔎Colin's Resource of Information: • Rosedale R, et.al. A study exploring the prevalence of Extremity Pain of Spinal Source (EXPOSS). J Man Manip Ther. 2020 Sep. doi: 10.1080/10669817.2019.1661706. 📲 Colin's contact information: • McKenzie Institute: https://bit.ly/4x4BeC1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-davies-8190b118/ 📩 Don't miss out on podcast updates!📬: https://www.ptprotalk.com/ 👉 Share Your Feedback: https://forms.gle/YspLGAzHph2fVord8 🎙Listen on all platforms: https://bit.ly/45rzffO 🍁 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝐏𝐓 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 🍁 In this channel, you will find Physical Therapy-related content, like interviews with experts who share their views and experiences, providing relevant information to help physical therapists improve their practice and patient care! 📩 Don't miss out on podcast updates!📬: https://www.ptprotalk.com/ 🌐𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐞 𝐎𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 https://www.instagram.com/ptprotalk/ https://www.facebook.com/ptprotalkpodcast https://www.linkedin.com/company/pt-pro-talk/ https://twitter.com/MariHannaParks Spotify: http://bit.ly/3HFJcNQ ✅𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇 📧 📩Email: mariana@ptprotalk.com Support 💁‍♂️ PT Pro Talk Podcast is only possible with the support of forward-looking and innovative companies like: Hanna Health: https://hannahealthhub.com/hep and SaRaHealth: https://bit.ly/saraytb #Physiotherapy #PhysicalTherapy #McKenzieMethod #MDT #ClinicalReasoning #ExtremityPain #ReferredPain #SpinalReferral #KneePain #HipPain #ShoulderPain #Rehabilitation #PTProTalk #ColinDavies #Physio