About Sarah Key Education
Sarah Key is one of the world’s leading experts and authors in the treatment of back pain.
Sarah runs celebrated back retreats informed by her decades of experience running clinics in the UK and Australia. During her time in London she was physiotherapist to the royal family and was made a Member of the Victorian Order by the Queen
Through her state-of-the-art Masterclasses, Sarah is now focused on passing on her knowledge to the next generation of therapists coming through. Comprehensive online Theory webinars are followed by 2-day highly intensive Practical Adjuncts where the treatment skills are refined.
And that is what this site is all about.
For Sarah Key’s Books, Backblocks and material oriented towards patients please visit :
sarahkey.com
The ultimate Scientific Endorsement
Professor Adams, still today the most cited researcher in the realms of the human spine, endorses Sarah’s courses thus:
I have worked recently with Sarah Key on a grant application and on a paper, and I can assure you that she has both a sound conventional knowledge of spinal mechanics and spinal degeneration, and also a number of intriguing insights into the causes and treatments of back pain. Sarah tends to use lively language in order to make her ideas more memorable, but the ideas themselves are entirely compatible with the scientific literature as I know it. I have not tried to assess formally the efficacy of her treatment regime, but it does seem plausible, and I have heard glowing verbal endorsements from others. The lively language, and Sarah’s undoubted ‘presence’ as an instructor, make for good teaching, and I am sure that her courses will have a positive influence on those who attend them. (2010)
Endorsement By HM THe King
Foreword
By HRH The Prince of Wales
ST. JAMES’S PALACE
Anyone writing about anything complicated knows how hard it is to hit the right note; to convey the right amount of information without lapsing into technical jargon so you leave your reading public behind and, at the same time, not dumbing it all down.
In this new book Sarah Key proposes, in readable language, a new framework for the way healthy spines break down through different stages and become painful. In a classic case of not seeing the wood for the trees, she believes that most spinal problems start off as a simple stiff link in the spine but it is so low-tech it escapes the attention of conventional medical wisdom’. Despite backpain being universally commonplace, she says it is often ignored until something more serious develops (like arthritis of the spine or a slipped disc) which is more easily recognised and diagnosed.
I find Sarah Key’s book makes sense in what to many is a pretty incomprehensible subject. It is such a help to have it explained so one can actually understand what is going on. Visualising what is happening inside the back makes it much more logical and easy to see why Sarah Key’s exercises really do work. After all, I should know. As one of her guinea pigs over the years I can vouch for their effectiveness, if not claim some credit for honing the final product.
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Course Tutors
Sarah Key MVO
Sarah Key MVO is the author of the popular books ‘The Back Sufferers’ Bible’, ‘‘’The Back Sufferers’ Pocket Guide’, Back in Action’, ‘The Body in Action’ and ‘Be Careful About Back Surgery’. Sarah is an Australian physiotherapist with an international reputation for treating problem backs. Over her years in clinical practice she has developed a working hypothesis comprising a rational blend of clinical experience and cutting edge science. She bases her concept on a solid foundation of the biosciences – spinal anatomy, biomechanics and intervertebral disc physiology – to explain how things go wrong and to provide the clinical reasoning behind her treatment approach. Her techniques are unusual and highly effective. The primary authors of Sarah’s source material are Michael Adams, Professor of Anatomy (retired) at Bristol University through his book ‘The Biomechanics of Back Pain’ and Nikolai Bogduk Emeritus Professor, Newcastle University, New South Wales through his book ‘Clinical Anatomy of The Lumbar Spine and Sacrum’. In addition, she uses over 400 academic papers to help throw light on the complexity of understanding and managing low back pain.
Cara Chandler BSc (HONS) MCSP MAACP
Cara became an Accredited Practitioner in The Sarah Key Method in 2007 after attending the courses at Highgrove, the estate of HRH the Prince of Wales. In 2013 she set up her own highly successful private clinic specializing in musculo-skelatal disorders, primarily backs. Before that time she worked with the MoD in Ireland. The greater part of her spinal therapy work is based on the Sarah Key skills. Cara believes that using the heel to mobilize the spine is best ways to get to the heart of a client’s problem.”Because of our 21st Century lifestyle we all suffer from spinal problems and various back-related aches and pains. I believe that spinal mobilizing un-jams the spine. It helps the nutrient supply of intervertebral discs and stops the cascade of breakdown of a problem spinal segment. Using my hands can at times feel limited, whereas with using my heel delivers ‘kinder’ pressures that loosen a stiff segment. Using the heel is always an eye-opener for clients but I have never had anyone shy away from me working like this. Apart from sparing my own body and extending the longevity of my working life, using my feet to mobilise the spine allows me to deliver a deeper and more specific treatment which has highly beneficial results. Patients are very pleased to get better so quickly! Sarah’s theory of ‘The 5 Stages of Breakdown’ has also given me an invaluable understanding of the biomechanics and biomedical science behind spinal breakdown.”Having assisted Sarah in Cornwall’s Hotel Tresanton at her ‘Back in a week’ patient program in 2007, visited the Sarah’s Clinic in Sydney and assisted during the UK 2017 training at University of Salford, Cara is delighted to have become part of Sarah’s teaching team. With the clinical skills – and business skills – she now employs in her highly successful private practice, Cara is delighted to help in passing on her knowledge and experience to help newcomer therapists successfully integrate the Sarah Key Method.ity of understanding and managing low back pain.
Kay Bradley-Higgins Grad Dip Phys, MSc Advanced Clinical Practice, Dip Orthopaedic Medicine, APSKM Physiotherapist
Kay graduated from the Salford School of Physiotherapy in 1991. Upon graduation, she worked at the Royal Oldham Hospital as a Junior Physiotherapist and completed a number of rotations in various specialities over two and a half years. She decided quite early to specialise in the treatment of Musculoskeletal (MSk) disorders (the treatment of pain, muscle and joint problems). In 1995, Kay moved to Huddersfield to work solely in MSk.Whilst working in Huddersfield, Kay developed an interest in the management and treatment of back and neck pain. She went on to complete a Masters Degree at Huddersfield University in 2004, doing a lot of the work around back pain. In 2005, Kay took an Advanced Practitioner post, which involved the triage of patients with MSk problems, particularly back pain. This post allows her to refer patients for imaging as well as to other agencies.Kay attended a variety of courses to help patients deal with spinal pain over the years. All pain can be disabling, but there are so many myths and fears surrounding back problems that patients often don’t know what to do for the best. Kay wanted to be able to give practical advice to help people on the road to recovery.In 2006, she attended the Sarah Key Masterclasses and found that Sarah’s explanations and treatment for back and neck pain really struck a chord. Kay found the course useful for her own back problems as well as for those of her patients. She went on to become an Accredited Sarah Key Practitioner, and continued training to become one of Sarah’s teachers.