Williams flexion exercises (WFE) — also called Williams lumbar flexion exercises or simply Williams exercises — are a set or system of related physical exercises intended to enhance lumbar flexion, avoid lumbar extension, and strengthen the abdominal and gluteal musculature in an effort to manage non-surgically. The system was first devised in 1937 by Dr. Williams (1900-1978), then a. WFEs have been a cornerstone in the management of lower back pain for many years for treating a wide variety of back problems, regardless of diagnosis or chief complaint. In many cases they are used when the disorder’s cause or characteristics were not fully understood by the,. Also, physical therapists and athletic trainers often teach these exercises with their own modifications. Contents • • • • • • • • History [ ] The WFEs were developed out of the (also called “squat exercise”), advocated in the 1930s by (1900-1983), a Tennessee orthopedic surgeon, and which consist in squatting and emphasizing the convexity of the lumbar area.

(The Regen exercise was originally publicized in a film by the.) Williams first published his own modified exercise program in 1937 for patients with chronic low back pain in response to his clinical observation that the majority of patients who experienced low back pain had degenerative vertebrae secondary to. These exercises were initially developed for men under 50 and women under 40 who had exaggerated lumbar, whose x-ray films showed decreased disc space between lumbar spine segments (L1-S1), and whose symptoms were chronic, but low grade. Dartmouth Manor Rags here. Theory [ ] Williams suggested that humans, in evolving to stand erect, severely deformed the vertebral column, redistributing body weight to the posterior aspect of the intervertebral discs in the lumbar spine. At the 4th and 5th lumbar levels, great pressure is said to be exerted on the posterior aspect of each vertebra and transferred from the vertebra to the disc. Williams specified that in most cases the 5th lumbar disc ruptures and the nuclear material of the disc moves into the spinal canal causing pressure on the spinal nerves. In addition to the ruptured disc, irritation of the nerve at the intervertebral foramen where the nerve exits from the spinal canal may result. He believed that this rarely occurs except at the 5th lumbar level, and that the likelihood of the nerves being impinged was greatly increased by extending the lumbar spine.