Back Mechanic - Stuart McGill

[tede02]

Earlier this year, I really flared up my low back while training for some mid-distance races. In my early forties now, but have dealt with back pain on and off to different degrees since my 20s. In search of answers, I ultimately found Dr. Stuart McGill who is largely considered the world expert on back-pain (especially low back pain). McGill has written lots of articles and books for the academic world. His book, Back Mechanic, is written for the lay person. It's relatively short and hits on the foundational aspects of his study of back pain, myths surrounding it, and solutions. There were some key things that I've learned:

 

1. Back pain is never non-specific, although that is a common diagnosis. There is a root cause and McGill provides at least a starting point for people to diagnose what is mechanically happening in their back to casue pain. 

 

2. Beware of generalized advice for back pain. McGill emphasizes that every sufferer of back pain should be treated as an individual. As a result, more often than not, generalized prescriptions for back pain, such as, "do yoga, or pilates," can often cause as many or more problems than it fixes. 

 

3. Low back pain is usually caused by some kind of instability in the lumbar area. Specific exercises are prescribed to strengthen and stiffen this area. 

 

4. For low back pain sufferers, stretching often makes things worse! Certain stretches, such as bending over to touch your toes, puts lots of pressure on the disks in your low back. If you have a disc bulge or herniation, common stretches will make the problem worse! This was a huge insight for me personally because I was doing lots of stretching inconjunction with my race training. Counterintuitively, by just stopping most of the stretching I was doing, this alone has helped my low back significantly. 

 

McGill has also been featured, at length, on many popular podcasts including with Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia. My back isn't 100% yet, but it is improving and I attribute it to what I've learned from Dr. McGill. 

Edited December 15, 2025 by tede02

[Charlie]

Sounds like a great book! I bought it. 

 

I suffered the last two months from lower back pain and it was terrible.

What finally worked was a fascia ball (like a tennis ball, only harder) that I pressed for 30 seconds in every place that did hurt.

 

[LC]

I'd suggest to get imaging and a PT. Imaging will help guide your physical therapist on what is causing the back pain and in what movements, and they can help design therapy. Good luck! Lower back pain sucks and there is not really a cure to disc degeneration, but therapy exists. I've got disc degeneration in my lower back but I ski daily or every other day, so it can certainly be managed and you can still do the fun things you enjoy