Mézières Method for "The Use of Self" in People With Low Back Pain. Mixed Study.

The Mezieres method was born in France with the physiotherapist Francoiçe Mezieres, who in the middle of the previous century began a series of observations that led her to rediscover body characteristics to understand it in a revolutionary way. Among the most important contributions is the first description of muscle chains, from which different global physiotherapy techniques have emerged. The method also proposes a form of intercorporal relationship different from that used in classical physiotherapy and gives way for people who receive this treatment to improve their body disposition and make use of their body in a conscientious manner. From this, in the present study we try to understand this method as one of the ones that promotes the "Use of self". In addition to identifying other aspects related to the meaning of the corporal intersubjectivity for the physiotherapist and for the person being treated, looking for the subjective construction of effectiveness and determining the objective effectiveness by means of objective measurements of the body.

The present research project use a mix method, it aims quantify the bodily benefits when applying the method and understand from the subjectivity the implications for the self during the body activity of the Mezieres Method. The study will be mixed and in parallel with 82 people diagnosed with mechanical back pain. Three assessments will be made: one initial, one at the end of the intervention and one last follow-up six weeks after the end of the treatment. The tests to be used will assess pain, functional limitation related to low back pain, quality of life related to health, flexibility, range of motion and posture. For the intervention, participants will be divided into 2 groups, group one will receive Method Mézières and group two will receive conventional physiotherapy according to the protocols of a clinical institution in Bogotá. Parallel to the intervention, the participating individuals and physiotherapists will keep a field diary that will facilitate the understanding of the body experience by performing the method studied.

At the end of the study, it is intended to know the objective effectiveness by means of the comparison made in the two groups in the variables studied. In addition, an interpretation of the body experience is expected when performing the Mezieres Method in comparison with conventional physiotherapy. This interpretation of hermeneutic character will revolve around the theoretical construction of the "Use of self"; This concept is recognized as a technology of the self that will be pursued through the Mézières Method. By promoting the "Use of self" the person can recognize their body and appropriate what happens with their locomotor system, decreasing the symptoms of pain and improving the prognosis of care for people who have these symptoms.