Tranfić Fizio Medical Center

Most problems with the loco motor system occur because of the reduced extent of the movement caused by pinched nerves, ligament or cartilage injuries, adhesions, muscle spasms, unwanted contact between tissue and cervical blood vessels. These disturbances can cause local pain or a spasm, but also symptoms such as tingling, a feeling of weakness in the arms and legs, dizziness, headaches… Long-term reduction in the range of movement causes chain reactions in the loco motor system by disrupting the function and structure of its parts and of the system as a whole. Our role is to quickly diagnose the condition and treat the causes of the disturbance, and to prevent it from reappearing. By using quick and specific therapeutic procedures, we make the recovery as complete and as quick as possible to treat neurological disorders (stroke), incontinence, trauma and deformities (scoliosis, kyphosis). In twenty years of work and experience in the future, it is our guiding principle to offer diagnostics, therapy and prevention to our patients that will pay off in the short term, but in the long term as well!

We work to eliminate causes of mechanical disorders of the loco motor system. Even more than twenty years ago as a student I noticed that the issues of concrete treatment of the spine, joints, muscles, sports injuries, trauma and rehabilitation of neurological disorders are not dealt with on time or profoundly enough. In my opinion, even today, the key problem is that physiatrists mostly prescribe, and physiotherapists carry out therapy. Logically, the physiatrists are reluctant to prescribe invasive methods such as manipulation (manual medicine or chiropractic) because they do not carry out these methods themselves. The latter are limited by that in the development of passive techniques of increasing agility which are the basis in the recovery of connective tissues, the development of muscle tissue and the stimulation of supportive (bone) tissue. Because of the lack of passive manual or electronic action (traction) on the most common causes of pain, trapped nerves, tingling, double vision, headaches and other symptoms generally caused by reduced agility, “standard physical therapy” leads to gradual passivity of the primarily affected, and then of the other loco motor systems.

A good insight into the issue deepened by apprenticeship at the Clinical Hospital Split has prompted me to take the job at the Centre for Manual Medicine led by specialists and physiotherapists from Ukraine. After two years of nearly full day’s work I have gained knowledge and skills in special massage and manual techniques of positioning spinal segments and joints. With enthusiasm I watched hundreds of patients whose pain, tingling, weakness in limbs, headaches and other severe symptoms were eliminated by “adjusting” the dislocated segments. This is not a concealment of the symptoms by tablets, injections or analgesia, but a true elimination of the cause of the problem, establishing the function of the affected segment, and also of the entire loco motor system. Understanding the circumstances of everyday life (wrong posture and movements, obesity, unbalanced physical exertion), I have decided, along with therapeutic methods, to develop innovative methods and preventive products. I began working independently and got educated in the Australian McKenzie method of mechanical manual diagnostics and treatment of the spine. This method, for which I gained a certificate, and which is applied by more than 10,000 doctors and physiotherapists in the world, particularly impressed me by the diagnostics system that leaves only a small percentage of patients in need of additional diagnostic assessment. Unfortunately, it is rarely used in our country, so many patients undergo unnecessary EMG, MRI, CT scans or X-ray examinations which prolong the beginning of real therapy and extend recovery.

In 1999 I formed a team, started working in sports, and we began working in Split. In professional sport things are much sharper. Athletes recover faster, but the stabilization of the segment in focus must be optimal as well as the prevention programme. Successful rehabilitations of the spines of Blanka Vlašić, Jelena Kostanić and Igor Boraska for the first time significantly attracted attention from the media. Apart from eliminating a severe problem of a pinched nerve, I enabled Blanka Vlašić to return to training, extended the spinal movement range and improved the intervertebral disc function between the vertebras, and consequently improved the activation of the surrounding muscles and more regular weight distribution on the supportive bone tissue. The ratio of Blanka’s height (193 cm) and weight (67-70 kg) as well as the sport she is involved in are extremely risky. I consider the improvement of the biomechanical quality of Blanka’s spine and the weekly preventive programme for the spine which was conducted between 2000 and 2010 a great success and a confirmation of the key principles of the Tranfić Polyclinic, which are:

(1) the adjustment of the bulging disc must be made as early as possible so the whole system would not suffer

(2) the ligament elasticity must be maximized regardless of the disappearance of pain in order to achieve optimal stress amortization

(3) the achieved elasticity enables all muscle units to activate quickly enough and to strengthen, and to transfer weight on time, without allowing the overload of muscular units of each segment (weightlifting phenomenon)

(4) all of this together leads to optimal health and coordination of the loco motor system

The latest MRI scans on Blanka Vlašić, which were made out of prevention, confirmed the most desirable possible condition! The above mentioned principles are applied in the therapies with the general population as well. We optimize the function of the loco motor system thus affecting its shape. We introduced manual medicine and traction in the correction therapy and received a response in both children and youth in development.

As we were developing therapeutic-prevention program, we opted for a POLYCLINIC form of work, which we achieved in 2002. As pioneers in mechanical diagnostics and treatment of the spine and joints, regardless of active people who have jumped, played tennis, paddled and sailed for years, we encountered resistance. However, the real satisfaction was that the leading physiatrists in Dalmatia supported us, prof. Dr. Tonko Vlak, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, and prof. Dr. Srđan Matijašević, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and sports medicine specialist, also the doctor of the Croatian national tennis team since it was established. I realised the idea that the clinic educates the physiatrist trained in manual medicine by itself. We got that in my long-time associate dr. Željko Keva. At the same time we worked on our own innovations and created a prevention programme. We made a DVD “Exercises for the back and body shaping with Blanka Vlašić” (Vježbe za leđa i oblikovanje tijela s Blankom Vlašić) and “Balancing exercises with Ivano Balić,” (Balansne vježbe s Ivanom Balićem) our protégé between 2000 and 2005. At that time, orthokinetic insoles were produced based on our concept. Our invention Spine Belt won the following awards: bronze medal at the International Exhibition of Invention in Geneva in 2005, the Genius Award in 2006, and special award Arca. Based on that concept, we made Tranfix – a band for protection and exercise of the neck, and the latest innovation is the balancing table for therapy that significantly shortens the rehabilitation of the spine, with all the benefits it brings.

Our intention is to always create services and products that would pay off to the users more and more!