MET - Medical Exercise Therapy is a scientifically and Evidenced-Based form of treatment that is underpinned by the biopsychosocial model of human function.
It is focused on the patient’s central nervous system that is dysfunctionally interpreting inputs as painful or excessively painful when it should not be the case. For this reason, it often results specific for patients with constant and chronic pain.
MET also acts on the patients’ beliefs and attitudes. Its aim is that the patient must not interpret pain as dangerous or threatening, exercise is performed correctly based on the patients pre-existing condition despite the fact that the exercise may initially appear uncoordinated.
When correctly prescribed, MET training will help the patient to take responsibility for their own symptoms, body and health.
The physical therapist is close by and on hand, creating a safe environment for the patient to exercise in. The patient has to feel “safe” in an environment created by the physical therapist simply by being on-site in the pain modulation/exercise room. The physical therapist also has the opportunity to grade exercises such that the patient is always progressing in his/her therapy.
In the pain modulation/exercise room, the therapist becomes the coach and the motivator, a knowledge bank where the patient can use and find support in to improve their level of function. This often reduces patient’s symptoms.
MET’s focus is largely on the dosage of exercise therapy/training. An adequate trainings dose is achieved through a combination of GLOBAL (whole body exercise), SEMI-GLOBAL (exercise with one extremity or kinetic chain) and LOCAL (exercises with a part of the kinetic chain for example one joint) exercises.
When the dosage of exercise is increased, we activate our descending pain inhibiting system and thus hinder nociceptive input to the central nervous system.
There exists today a large body of evidence and research that supports the thinking behind exercising and pain modulation with MET.
In Sports Rehab we use this method in order to deal with patients with musculoskeletal chronic pain, rheumatological, and/or algological problems.
The goal is to activate the descending pain inhibitory system of the central nervous system resulting in the production of endogenous opioids and achieving cognitive and spinal control of nociceptive input.
Sports Rehab offers the services of Certified MET therapists with the Holten Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.