Spine Rehab in Provo: Computerized Stability Testing and Retraining
The only clinic in Utah County that measures your spinal stability with instrumented machines, then retrains it with numbers instead of guesswork.
Why does your back pain keep coming back?
You got treated. You felt better. Then a few weeks or months later, one wrong lift or one long drive and the pain was back. If that cycle sounds familiar, the problem usually is not that your disc never healed. It is that the deep muscles responsible for steadying your spine never relearned their job.
Research on herniated discs and sciatica points to the same pattern: after a disc injury, the small stabilizing muscles along the spine fire late, fatigue early, and often work harder on one side than the other. You cannot feel that imbalance. A doctor cannot feel it with their hands either. It has to be measured.
That is exactly what our computerized spine stability program does: it measures how stable your spine actually is, shows you the numbers, and then retrains the weak links until the numbers say you are protected.
Rehab you can measure. Machines you cannot find anywhere else.
Dr. Matt McClean designed and built our force-feedback rehab machines himself. Each one is instrumented with load cells, the same sensors used in engineering labs, so your spine care runs on data.
An objective stability score
The machines measure how steadily your spine holds and controls force. Not “that felt better” but an exact number you can compare visit to visit.
Left/right symmetry
Each side of your spine is tested independently. A hidden side-to-side imbalance is one of the most common reasons disc pain and sciatica keep returning, and it is invisible without instrumentation.
Endurance, not just strength
Most flare-ups happen when the stabilizing muscles are tired, late in the day or deep into a task. We measure how long your muscles protect your spine before they fatigue.
Progress you can see
You are re-tested at set points in the program. You watch your own numbers climb, and care ends when the measurements say your spine is stable, not when a calendar says time is up.
Built by a spine specialist. Literally.
Our doctors completed fellowship training in spinal biomechanics and trauma (FSBT), training most chiropractors never pursue. Dr. Matt McClean took it a step further: he engineered and built the clinic’s stability testing machines from the ground up, designed around how spinal stability is actually measured in biomechanics research.
This is not franchise equipment other clinics can order from a catalog. No other clinic in Provo or Utah County offers quantified spine stability testing and retraining.
How the program works
1. Test
A baseline evaluation measures your spinal stability, left/right symmetry, and muscular endurance on the instrumented machines. You leave the first visit knowing exactly where your spine stands.
2. Retrain
In force-feedback training sessions, you watch a live target on screen while the machine measures your effort in real time. Your spine learns precise, symmetric control, and the difficulty rises only as your numbers earn it.
3. Re-test
At set milestones we repeat the baseline measurements. Progress is proven, not assumed, and the program ends when your stability scores reach the target range.
This program is for you if...
- ✓ Your herniated disc improved, but you are afraid the pain will come back
- ✓ Your sciatica flares up every few months no matter what you do
- ✓ You finished spinal decompression or disc treatment and want to protect the results
- ✓ Your back pain returns whenever you lift, sit too long, or travel
- ✓ After a car accident, the pain faded but your back still feels fragile or untrustworthy
- ✓ You have been told to “strengthen your core” but no one ever measured anything
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as physical therapy?
It complements it. The difference is measurement. Standard rehab progresses you by feel and by calendar. Our machines are instrumented with load cells, so every session produces exact numbers for how stable, symmetric, and fatigue-resistant your spine actually is. You progress when the numbers say you are ready.
Will the testing hurt?
No. The baseline test measures how steadily you can hold and control modest forces, not how much you can lift. Every effort level afterward is set from your own baseline, so you are never pushed past what your spine demonstrated it can handle.
How is this different from doing planks or core work at the gym?
Gym work builds general strength, and that matters. But recurring disc and sciatica problems are usually a control problem, not a strength problem: the muscles that steady each spinal segment fire late, fatigue early, or work unevenly from side to side. You cannot feel that imbalance, and you cannot fix what has never been measured. Force-feedback training targets it directly.
Do I need an X-ray or MRI first?
You need an evaluation first. Our fellowship-trained doctors decide whether imaging is indicated. If instability is suspected, we can pair stability testing with motion X-ray, which shows how your spine behaves while it moves.
How long does the program take?
It depends on your baseline numbers. A typical path is a baseline test, a block of retraining sessions, and a re-test to verify progress. Care ends when your stability scores say your spine is protected, not when an arbitrary visit count runs out.
Is it covered by insurance?
Coverage varies by plan. Call 801-373-1035 and our front desk will verify your benefits before you start.
Related conditions and services
Find out how stable your spine actually is
One phone call gets you a baseline stability test with a fellowship-trained spine specialist in Provo. McClean Chiropractic – Spine Care Specialists, serving Provo, Orem, and all of Utah County since 1999.
See what our patients say: read our Google reviews.