Back Mechanic (Video Enhanced) by Dr. Stuart McGill

This book is simply amazing. I overcame a herniated disc with the help of this book after nothing else worked. Dr. McGill is a life saver and I don't say that lightly. If you are determined to put an end to your back pain this book will guide you step by step towards recovery

This book is great, but the text color is hard for me to read and the page margins are too small. The text starts to go into the crease and can be hard to read at the seam. But the information in this book is great. As someone with chronic neck, back, and leg pain and nerve issues, I’ve learned a lot to help manage my pain and symptoms.

I had tried physical therapy and injections, and tens units, and dry needling to treat the arthritis and disc bulges in my lower back. I had finally arrived at a pain specialist who just gave me medicine. This book really helps you understand what type of moments you are doing to exacerbate your problem and how to change that. no Dr had ever brought any of this up, But rather made it sound like I was destined to nothing but pain and pills. I highly recommend this book and get the video section with it also. It is very helpful in diagnosing yourself so you don’t have to go to Canada to visit Dr. McGill.

I gotta tell you. This book isn't cheap and I took my chances. I have had lower back issues most of my life and now being 60 years old its finally caught up with me. I tried many/all of the standard back exercises that I had been exposed to. Little did I know, after reading this book, that they were all wrong and likely contributed to the demise of my lower back. Before you buy this, you can Google the authors name, Dr. Stuart McGill, and try out his Big 3 exercises. However, the book explains so much more about our every day posture and movements that keep the back pain from ever truly dissipating. He also provides tests you can do on yourself to find the sweet spot of your posture. I found, for example, that sitting for any period of time left me with so much pain I could not stand up, upright, upon rising from a chair. I had to slowly stand up. I now use a cushion on my chairs that has helped immensely; but you have to find the right size. I made the mistake and got one that arched my back too much. Lastly, keep in mind that this is all about not only correct posture in standing sitting and walking, but also every day movements and he even touches on some workout moves performed with correct form. Its all about spine sparing and stiff spine vs the normal PT stuff of providing flexibility to your spine. Supper important distinction. Very counter to the PT culture. If you are an athlete (and I am one) he offers another book you may want to check out after this one. (I also purchased the video series that actually explains all this further and shows you how to do certain things - well worth paying for that upgrade). THANK YOU DR. STUART MCGILL!

I had chronic back injury a few months ago and ended up in the hospital for five days I couldn’t move. I was discharged with a walker. I’ve never felt this kind of pain in my life. Went to physical theory for three weeks and all they did was worsen the pain. I was fortunate I came across Dr. McGill and purchased his book, Back Mechanic. 2.5 months into self rehab and I’m living PAIN FREE. I cannot thank Dr. McGill enough I think this book is worth so much more than $60. Thank you Dr. Stuart McGill, from the bottom of my heart.

Ordered for my friend who has a herniated L5-S1 disc. This was helpful and helped her heal faster than her her injury when we didn’t have this book to guide us. It’s hard with a back injury as there are so many conflicting recommendations but I think this author knows and understands and explains how to help better than most. She was still down in intense pain for 4 weeks and I don’t think there’s much to do during that time besides hydrate and try to get comfortable. But changing posture and doing the right things (more importantly avoiding the wrong things) will hopefully prevent recurring injuries. I’m so sorry if you’re reading this and also suffering. We did look up Stuart McGill (the author) and found a local PT certified in the McGill method and he has been so helpful. It was helpful to read the book before starting PT.

Dr. McGill is truly a master craftsman of the lumbar spine, specifically the root cause identification of pain sources and the methodical, step-by-step approach to eliminating them. Personally, I suffered from multiple bouts of referred pain in my lower extremities, on and off, for about 8 years. While the constant dull, throbbing pain in my hip, knee, and ankle from sitting in a car for long distance drives was barely tolerable, the worst aspect was the impact on my quality of life. I could not keep up any sort of a normal exercise regimen, either weightlifting or running, before encountering another major pain episode. Following Dr. McGill's approach in Back Mechanic, I was able to identify the offending postures and motions and gradually eliminate the referred pain, over a period of about 2 - 3 months. I am now able to detect the onset of mild pain, trace it to a specific event, and refocus my dilgence to suppress it, employing what Dr. McGill refers to as "good spinal hygiene"! Here are the main things I learned: 1. You are your own best advocate for your wellness. Take responsibility! a. Beware a diagnoses based on imaging alone b. Beware of passive treatments which treat symptoms (shots, pills, ultrasound, etc.) c. Like all therapy, psychological or physical, you must be an active participant d. Develop an active plan to work on your back every day. It's worth it! 2. BBM (Before Back Mechanic), many of the things I did to try to remedy the pain were absolutely wrong and actually making the pain worse a. Yoga and/or various stretches to loosen my back, hip flexors, hamstrings, etc. b. Aggressive icing c. Suspecting, and trying to relieve, Piriformis syndrome 3. My "offending" posture is hip flexion, aggravated by lumbar "rounding", and also by neck flexion a. Sitting in a chair, leaning forward with a rounded back, looking down at my phone. Ouch!!! b. Unconsciously maneuvering into a fetal-like position while sleeping (hip flexion, lumbar rounding, neck flexion) and waking with aching leg pain c. And on and on 4. Actively building a game plan to recover a. Eliminate the bad by exercising good spinal hygiene b. Start gradually with the "Big Three" core exercises c. Slowly increase your "sphere" of mobility At 56 years of age, I'm now back to squatting, deadlifting, swinging kettlebells, and running fast ... sort of. Thank you Dr. McGill!!!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone experiencing back pain. This book was truly a lifesaver for me, and has allowed me to live a pain free life. Professor Stuart McGill has condensed over 30 years of expertise on the spine, into a single volume that is accessible to the layperson. About fifteen years ago, I first threw my back out. I didn’t know what hit me, the pain was so intense I couldn’t move. I spent 8 years in the military, but this was a different kind of pain. It would take me thirty minutes just to get onto my feet, and my back was convulsing with spasms intensely. I thought I had broken my spine. After three days of this, my husband took me to the emergency room. There, they gave me powerful painkillers and shot me up with cortisone and sent me home. This took care of the pain, but was not a long-term solution. For the next year, I tried everything to fix my painful back. Acupuncture, massage, yoga, elliptical cardio, nothing worked on a long-term basis. I went from an athletic person who ran 40 miles a week, to not able to put on my own shoes. From embarrassment of asking my husband for help, I started wearing slip-on shoes. Only in my 30s at the time, I thought my body had betrayed me and was broken. Even breathing was painful, and I never knew when my back would get stuck in extension, so that I was barely able to move. Eventually, I tried physical therapy, which helped greatly but I was still in a lot of pain. Then, after reading “Crooked” by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, where she chronicles her experience with back pain, I found Professor McGill’s books. It took me two days of serious study to go through the Back Mechanics book, including the self assessment to realize I had flexion intolerance. Finally, I had a diagnosis and understood why I was in pain and what I needed to do to fix it. No doctor in fifteen years was able to do this for me. Professor McGill explains how to avoid your pain triggers, how to move again without compromising your spine. He provides exercises to strengthen your core, that must be done daily and can simply be incorporated into any workout. Today, thanks to Professor McGill, I am stronger than ever and do daily bodyweight callisthenic workouts, love to go on long walks, and am in the best shape of my life (apart from right after basic training of course ☺.)

As a massage therapist, I have recommended this book to a number of clients with low back pain. This book is written in a clear, accessible format with exercises, changes to posture and other, and body awareness that should be fairly simple and straightforward for most people to implement. The author does a clear job of explaining why much of the conventional wisdom regarding back pain and advice about what to do for it is actually not helpful and in some cases causes more problems. Some easy adjustments I made in my own environment in regards to sitting and picking things up off the floor have actually made quite a bit of difference and I am pretty body and ergonomic aware. If you are a clinician, you might want one of his more detailed and robust versions geared towards clinicians. But for most people this book will probably be just about right.

This book is simply amazing. I overcame a herniated disc with the help of this book after nothing else worked. Dr. McGill is a life saver and I don't say that lightly. If you are determined to put an end to your back pain this book will guide you step by step towards recovery

This book is great, but the text color is hard for me to read and the page margins are too small. The text starts to go into the crease and can be hard to read at the seam. But the information in this book is great. As someone with chronic neck, back, and leg pain and nerve issues, I’ve learned a lot to help manage my pain and symptoms.

I had tried physical therapy and injections, and tens units, and dry needling to treat the arthritis and disc bulges in my lower back. I had finally arrived at a pain specialist who just gave me medicine. This book really helps you understand what type of moments you are doing to exacerbate your problem and how to change that. no Dr had ever brought any of this up, But rather made it sound like I was destined to nothing but pain and pills. I highly recommend this book and get the video section with it also. It is very helpful in diagnosing yourself so you don’t have to go to Canada to visit Dr. McGill.

I gotta tell you. This book isn't cheap and I took my chances. I have had lower back issues most of my life and now being 60 years old its finally caught up with me. I tried many/all of the standard back exercises that I had been exposed to. Little did I know, after reading this book, that they were all wrong and likely contributed to the demise of my lower back. Before you buy this, you can Google the authors name, Dr. Stuart McGill, and try out his Big 3 exercises. However, the book explains so much more about our every day posture and movements that keep the back pain from ever truly dissipating. He also provides tests you can do on yourself to find the sweet spot of your posture. I found, for example, that sitting for any period of time left me with so much pain I could not stand up, upright, upon rising from a chair. I had to slowly stand up. I now use a cushion on my chairs that has helped immensely; but you have to find the right size. I made the mistake and got one that arched my back too much. Lastly, keep in mind that this is all about not only correct posture in standing sitting and walking, but also every day movements and he even touches on some workout moves performed with correct form. Its all about spine sparing and stiff spine vs the normal PT stuff of providing flexibility to your spine. Supper important distinction. Very counter to the PT culture. If you are an athlete (and I am one) he offers another book you may want to check out after this one. (I also purchased the video series that actually explains all this further and shows you how to do certain things - well worth paying for that upgrade). THANK YOU DR. STUART MCGILL!

I had chronic back injury a few months ago and ended up in the hospital for five days I couldn’t move. I was discharged with a walker. I’ve never felt this kind of pain in my life. Went to physical theory for three weeks and all they did was worsen the pain. I was fortunate I came across Dr. McGill and purchased his book, Back Mechanic. 2.5 months into self rehab and I’m living PAIN FREE. I cannot thank Dr. McGill enough I think this book is worth so much more than $60. Thank you Dr. Stuart McGill, from the bottom of my heart.

Ordered for my friend who has a herniated L5-S1 disc. This was helpful and helped her heal faster than her her injury when we didn’t have this book to guide us. It’s hard with a back injury as there are so many conflicting recommendations but I think this author knows and understands and explains how to help better than most. She was still down in intense pain for 4 weeks and I don’t think there’s much to do during that time besides hydrate and try to get comfortable. But changing posture and doing the right things (more importantly avoiding the wrong things) will hopefully prevent recurring injuries. I’m so sorry if you’re reading this and also suffering. We did look up Stuart McGill (the author) and found a local PT certified in the McGill method and he has been so helpful. It was helpful to read the book before starting PT.

Dr. McGill is truly a master craftsman of the lumbar spine, specifically the root cause identification of pain sources and the methodical, step-by-step approach to eliminating them. Personally, I suffered from multiple bouts of referred pain in my lower extremities, on and off, for about 8 years. While the constant dull, throbbing pain in my hip, knee, and ankle from sitting in a car for long distance drives was barely tolerable, the worst aspect was the impact on my quality of life. I could not keep up any sort of a normal exercise regimen, either weightlifting or running, before encountering another major pain episode. Following Dr. McGill's approach in Back Mechanic, I was able to identify the offending postures and motions and gradually eliminate the referred pain, over a period of about 2 - 3 months. I am now able to detect the onset of mild pain, trace it to a specific event, and refocus my dilgence to suppress it, employing what Dr. McGill refers to as "good spinal hygiene"! Here are the main things I learned: 1. You are your own best advocate for your wellness. Take responsibility! a. Beware a diagnoses based on imaging alone b. Beware of passive treatments which treat symptoms (shots, pills, ultrasound, etc.) c. Like all therapy, psychological or physical, you must be an active participant d. Develop an active plan to work on your back every day. It's worth it! 2. BBM (Before Back Mechanic), many of the things I did to try to remedy the pain were absolutely wrong and actually making the pain worse a. Yoga and/or various stretches to loosen my back, hip flexors, hamstrings, etc. b. Aggressive icing c. Suspecting, and trying to relieve, Piriformis syndrome 3. My "offending" posture is hip flexion, aggravated by lumbar "rounding", and also by neck flexion a. Sitting in a chair, leaning forward with a rounded back, looking down at my phone. Ouch!!! b. Unconsciously maneuvering into a fetal-like position while sleeping (hip flexion, lumbar rounding, neck flexion) and waking with aching leg pain c. And on and on 4. Actively building a game plan to recover a. Eliminate the bad by exercising good spinal hygiene b. Start gradually with the "Big Three" core exercises c. Slowly increase your "sphere" of mobility At 56 years of age, I'm now back to squatting, deadlifting, swinging kettlebells, and running fast ... sort of. Thank you Dr. McGill!!!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone experiencing back pain. This book was truly a lifesaver for me, and has allowed me to live a pain free life. Professor Stuart McGill has condensed over 30 years of expertise on the spine, into a single volume that is accessible to the layperson. About fifteen years ago, I first threw my back out. I didn’t know what hit me, the pain was so intense I couldn’t move. I spent 8 years in the military, but this was a different kind of pain. It would take me thirty minutes just to get onto my feet, and my back was convulsing with spasms intensely. I thought I had broken my spine. After three days of this, my husband took me to the emergency room. There, they gave me powerful painkillers and shot me up with cortisone and sent me home. This took care of the pain, but was not a long-term solution. For the next year, I tried everything to fix my painful back. Acupuncture, massage, yoga, elliptical cardio, nothing worked on a long-term basis. I went from an athletic person who ran 40 miles a week, to not able to put on my own shoes. From embarrassment of asking my husband for help, I started wearing slip-on shoes. Only in my 30s at the time, I thought my body had betrayed me and was broken. Even breathing was painful, and I never knew when my back would get stuck in extension, so that I was barely able to move. Eventually, I tried physical therapy, which helped greatly but I was still in a lot of pain. Then, after reading “Crooked” by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, where she chronicles her experience with back pain, I found Professor McGill’s books. It took me two days of serious study to go through the Back Mechanics book, including the self assessment to realize I had flexion intolerance. Finally, I had a diagnosis and understood why I was in pain and what I needed to do to fix it. No doctor in fifteen years was able to do this for me. Professor McGill explains how to avoid your pain triggers, how to move again without compromising your spine. He provides exercises to strengthen your core, that must be done daily and can simply be incorporated into any workout. Today, thanks to Professor McGill, I am stronger than ever and do daily bodyweight callisthenic workouts, love to go on long walks, and am in the best shape of my life (apart from right after basic training of course ☺.)

As a massage therapist, I have recommended this book to a number of clients with low back pain. This book is written in a clear, accessible format with exercises, changes to posture and other, and body awareness that should be fairly simple and straightforward for most people to implement. The author does a clear job of explaining why much of the conventional wisdom regarding back pain and advice about what to do for it is actually not helpful and in some cases causes more problems. Some easy adjustments I made in my own environment in regards to sitting and picking things up off the floor have actually made quite a bit of difference and I am pretty body and ergonomic aware. If you are a clinician, you might want one of his more detailed and robust versions geared towards clinicians. But for most people this book will probably be just about right.

This book is simply amazing. I overcame a herniated disc with the help of this book after nothing else worked. Dr. McGill is a life saver and I don't say that lightly. If you are determined to put an end to your back pain this book will guide you step by step towards recovery

This book is great, but the text color is hard for me to read and the page margins are too small. The text starts to go into the crease and can be hard to read at the seam. But the information in this book is great. As someone with chronic neck, back, and leg pain and nerve issues, I’ve learned a lot to help manage my pain and symptoms.

I had tried physical therapy and injections, and tens units, and dry needling to treat the arthritis and disc bulges in my lower back. I had finally arrived at a pain specialist who just gave me medicine. This book really helps you understand what type of moments you are doing to exacerbate your problem and how to change that. no Dr had ever brought any of this up, But rather made it sound like I was destined to nothing but pain and pills. I highly recommend this book and get the video section with it also. It is very helpful in diagnosing yourself so you don’t have to go to Canada to visit Dr. McGill.

I gotta tell you. This book isn't cheap and I took my chances. I have had lower back issues most of my life and now being 60 years old its finally caught up with me. I tried many/all of the standard back exercises that I had been exposed to. Little did I know, after reading this book, that they were all wrong and likely contributed to the demise of my lower back. Before you buy this, you can Google the authors name, Dr. Stuart McGill, and try out his Big 3 exercises. However, the book explains so much more about our every day posture and movements that keep the back pain from ever truly dissipating. He also provides tests you can do on yourself to find the sweet spot of your posture. I found, for example, that sitting for any period of time left me with so much pain I could not stand up, upright, upon rising from a chair. I had to slowly stand up. I now use a cushion on my chairs that has helped immensely; but you have to find the right size. I made the mistake and got one that arched my back too much. Lastly, keep in mind that this is all about not only correct posture in standing sitting and walking, but also every day movements and he even touches on some workout moves performed with correct form. Its all about spine sparing and stiff spine vs the normal PT stuff of providing flexibility to your spine. Supper important distinction. Very counter to the PT culture. If you are an athlete (and I am one) he offers another book you may want to check out after this one. (I also purchased the video series that actually explains all this further and shows you how to do certain things - well worth paying for that upgrade). THANK YOU DR. STUART MCGILL!

I had chronic back injury a few months ago and ended up in the hospital for five days I couldn’t move. I was discharged with a walker. I’ve never felt this kind of pain in my life. Went to physical theory for three weeks and all they did was worsen the pain. I was fortunate I came across Dr. McGill and purchased his book, Back Mechanic. 2.5 months into self rehab and I’m living PAIN FREE. I cannot thank Dr. McGill enough I think this book is worth so much more than $60. Thank you Dr. Stuart McGill, from the bottom of my heart.

Ordered for my friend who has a herniated L5-S1 disc. This was helpful and helped her heal faster than her her injury when we didn’t have this book to guide us. It’s hard with a back injury as there are so many conflicting recommendations but I think this author knows and understands and explains how to help better than most. She was still down in intense pain for 4 weeks and I don’t think there’s much to do during that time besides hydrate and try to get comfortable. But changing posture and doing the right things (more importantly avoiding the wrong things) will hopefully prevent recurring injuries. I’m so sorry if you’re reading this and also suffering. We did look up Stuart McGill (the author) and found a local PT certified in the McGill method and he has been so helpful. It was helpful to read the book before starting PT.

Dr. McGill is truly a master craftsman of the lumbar spine, specifically the root cause identification of pain sources and the methodical, step-by-step approach to eliminating them. Personally, I suffered from multiple bouts of referred pain in my lower extremities, on and off, for about 8 years. While the constant dull, throbbing pain in my hip, knee, and ankle from sitting in a car for long distance drives was barely tolerable, the worst aspect was the impact on my quality of life. I could not keep up any sort of a normal exercise regimen, either weightlifting or running, before encountering another major pain episode. Following Dr. McGill's approach in Back Mechanic, I was able to identify the offending postures and motions and gradually eliminate the referred pain, over a period of about 2 - 3 months. I am now able to detect the onset of mild pain, trace it to a specific event, and refocus my dilgence to suppress it, employing what Dr. McGill refers to as "good spinal hygiene"! Here are the main things I learned: 1. You are your own best advocate for your wellness. Take responsibility! a. Beware a diagnoses based on imaging alone b. Beware of passive treatments which treat symptoms (shots, pills, ultrasound, etc.) c. Like all therapy, psychological or physical, you must be an active participant d. Develop an active plan to work on your back every day. It's worth it! 2. BBM (Before Back Mechanic), many of the things I did to try to remedy the pain were absolutely wrong and actually making the pain worse a. Yoga and/or various stretches to loosen my back, hip flexors, hamstrings, etc. b. Aggressive icing c. Suspecting, and trying to relieve, Piriformis syndrome 3. My "offending" posture is hip flexion, aggravated by lumbar "rounding", and also by neck flexion a. Sitting in a chair, leaning forward with a rounded back, looking down at my phone. Ouch!!! b. Unconsciously maneuvering into a fetal-like position while sleeping (hip flexion, lumbar rounding, neck flexion) and waking with aching leg pain c. And on and on 4. Actively building a game plan to recover a. Eliminate the bad by exercising good spinal hygiene b. Start gradually with the "Big Three" core exercises c. Slowly increase your "sphere" of mobility At 56 years of age, I'm now back to squatting, deadlifting, swinging kettlebells, and running fast ... sort of. Thank you Dr. McGill!!!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone experiencing back pain. This book was truly a lifesaver for me, and has allowed me to live a pain free life. Professor Stuart McGill has condensed over 30 years of expertise on the spine, into a single volume that is accessible to the layperson. About fifteen years ago, I first threw my back out. I didn’t know what hit me, the pain was so intense I couldn’t move. I spent 8 years in the military, but this was a different kind of pain. It would take me thirty minutes just to get onto my feet, and my back was convulsing with spasms intensely. I thought I had broken my spine. After three days of this, my husband took me to the emergency room. There, they gave me powerful painkillers and shot me up with cortisone and sent me home. This took care of the pain, but was not a long-term solution. For the next year, I tried everything to fix my painful back. Acupuncture, massage, yoga, elliptical cardio, nothing worked on a long-term basis. I went from an athletic person who ran 40 miles a week, to not able to put on my own shoes. From embarrassment of asking my husband for help, I started wearing slip-on shoes. Only in my 30s at the time, I thought my body had betrayed me and was broken. Even breathing was painful, and I never knew when my back would get stuck in extension, so that I was barely able to move. Eventually, I tried physical therapy, which helped greatly but I was still in a lot of pain. Then, after reading “Crooked” by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, where she chronicles her experience with back pain, I found Professor McGill’s books. It took me two days of serious study to go through the Back Mechanics book, including the self assessment to realize I had flexion intolerance. Finally, I had a diagnosis and understood why I was in pain and what I needed to do to fix it. No doctor in fifteen years was able to do this for me. Professor McGill explains how to avoid your pain triggers, how to move again without compromising your spine. He provides exercises to strengthen your core, that must be done daily and can simply be incorporated into any workout. Today, thanks to Professor McGill, I am stronger than ever and do daily bodyweight callisthenic workouts, love to go on long walks, and am in the best shape of my life (apart from right after basic training of course ☺.)

As a massage therapist, I have recommended this book to a number of clients with low back pain. This book is written in a clear, accessible format with exercises, changes to posture and other, and body awareness that should be fairly simple and straightforward for most people to implement. The author does a clear job of explaining why much of the conventional wisdom regarding back pain and advice about what to do for it is actually not helpful and in some cases causes more problems. Some easy adjustments I made in my own environment in regards to sitting and picking things up off the floor have actually made quite a bit of difference and I am pretty body and ergonomic aware. If you are a clinician, you might want one of his more detailed and robust versions geared towards clinicians. But for most people this book will probably be just about right.

This book is simply amazing. I overcame a herniated disc with the help of this book after nothing else worked. Dr. McGill is a life saver and I don't say that lightly. If you are determined to put an end to your back pain this book will guide you step by step towards recovery

This book is great, but the text color is hard for me to read and the page margins are too small. The text starts to go into the crease and can be hard to read at the seam. But the information in this book is great. As someone with chronic neck, back, and leg pain and nerve issues, I’ve learned a lot to help manage my pain and symptoms.

I had tried physical therapy and injections, and tens units, and dry needling to treat the arthritis and disc bulges in my lower back. I had finally arrived at a pain specialist who just gave me medicine. This book really helps you understand what type of moments you are doing to exacerbate your problem and how to change that. no Dr had ever brought any of this up, But rather made it sound like I was destined to nothing but pain and pills. I highly recommend this book and get the video section with it also. It is very helpful in diagnosing yourself so you don’t have to go to Canada to visit Dr. McGill.

I gotta tell you. This book isn't cheap and I took my chances. I have had lower back issues most of my life and now being 60 years old its finally caught up with me. I tried many/all of the standard back exercises that I had been exposed to. Little did I know, after reading this book, that they were all wrong and likely contributed to the demise of my lower back. Before you buy this, you can Google the authors name, Dr. Stuart McGill, and try out his Big 3 exercises. However, the book explains so much more about our every day posture and movements that keep the back pain from ever truly dissipating. He also provides tests you can do on yourself to find the sweet spot of your posture. I found, for example, that sitting for any period of time left me with so much pain I could not stand up, upright, upon rising from a chair. I had to slowly stand up. I now use a cushion on my chairs that has helped immensely; but you have to find the right size. I made the mistake and got one that arched my back too much. Lastly, keep in mind that this is all about not only correct posture in standing sitting and walking, but also every day movements and he even touches on some workout moves performed with correct form. Its all about spine sparing and stiff spine vs the normal PT stuff of providing flexibility to your spine. Supper important distinction. Very counter to the PT culture. If you are an athlete (and I am one) he offers another book you may want to check out after this one. (I also purchased the video series that actually explains all this further and shows you how to do certain things - well worth paying for that upgrade). THANK YOU DR. STUART MCGILL!

I had chronic back injury a few months ago and ended up in the hospital for five days I couldn’t move. I was discharged with a walker. I’ve never felt this kind of pain in my life. Went to physical theory for three weeks and all they did was worsen the pain. I was fortunate I came across Dr. McGill and purchased his book, Back Mechanic. 2.5 months into self rehab and I’m living PAIN FREE. I cannot thank Dr. McGill enough I think this book is worth so much more than $60. Thank you Dr. Stuart McGill, from the bottom of my heart.

Ordered for my friend who has a herniated L5-S1 disc. This was helpful and helped her heal faster than her her injury when we didn’t have this book to guide us. It’s hard with a back injury as there are so many conflicting recommendations but I think this author knows and understands and explains how to help better than most. She was still down in intense pain for 4 weeks and I don’t think there’s much to do during that time besides hydrate and try to get comfortable. But changing posture and doing the right things (more importantly avoiding the wrong things) will hopefully prevent recurring injuries. I’m so sorry if you’re reading this and also suffering. We did look up Stuart McGill (the author) and found a local PT certified in the McGill method and he has been so helpful. It was helpful to read the book before starting PT.

Dr. McGill is truly a master craftsman of the lumbar spine, specifically the root cause identification of pain sources and the methodical, step-by-step approach to eliminating them. Personally, I suffered from multiple bouts of referred pain in my lower extremities, on and off, for about 8 years. While the constant dull, throbbing pain in my hip, knee, and ankle from sitting in a car for long distance drives was barely tolerable, the worst aspect was the impact on my quality of life. I could not keep up any sort of a normal exercise regimen, either weightlifting or running, before encountering another major pain episode. Following Dr. McGill's approach in Back Mechanic, I was able to identify the offending postures and motions and gradually eliminate the referred pain, over a period of about 2 - 3 months. I am now able to detect the onset of mild pain, trace it to a specific event, and refocus my dilgence to suppress it, employing what Dr. McGill refers to as "good spinal hygiene"! Here are the main things I learned: 1. You are your own best advocate for your wellness. Take responsibility! a. Beware a diagnoses based on imaging alone b. Beware of passive treatments which treat symptoms (shots, pills, ultrasound, etc.) c. Like all therapy, psychological or physical, you must be an active participant d. Develop an active plan to work on your back every day. It's worth it! 2. BBM (Before Back Mechanic), many of the things I did to try to remedy the pain were absolutely wrong and actually making the pain worse a. Yoga and/or various stretches to loosen my back, hip flexors, hamstrings, etc. b. Aggressive icing c. Suspecting, and trying to relieve, Piriformis syndrome 3. My "offending" posture is hip flexion, aggravated by lumbar "rounding", and also by neck flexion a. Sitting in a chair, leaning forward with a rounded back, looking down at my phone. Ouch!!! b. Unconsciously maneuvering into a fetal-like position while sleeping (hip flexion, lumbar rounding, neck flexion) and waking with aching leg pain c. And on and on 4. Actively building a game plan to recover a. Eliminate the bad by exercising good spinal hygiene b. Start gradually with the "Big Three" core exercises c. Slowly increase your "sphere" of mobility At 56 years of age, I'm now back to squatting, deadlifting, swinging kettlebells, and running fast ... sort of. Thank you Dr. McGill!!!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone experiencing back pain. This book was truly a lifesaver for me, and has allowed me to live a pain free life. Professor Stuart McGill has condensed over 30 years of expertise on the spine, into a single volume that is accessible to the layperson. About fifteen years ago, I first threw my back out. I didn’t know what hit me, the pain was so intense I couldn’t move. I spent 8 years in the military, but this was a different kind of pain. It would take me thirty minutes just to get onto my feet, and my back was convulsing with spasms intensely. I thought I had broken my spine. After three days of this, my husband took me to the emergency room. There, they gave me powerful painkillers and shot me up with cortisone and sent me home. This took care of the pain, but was not a long-term solution. For the next year, I tried everything to fix my painful back. Acupuncture, massage, yoga, elliptical cardio, nothing worked on a long-term basis. I went from an athletic person who ran 40 miles a week, to not able to put on my own shoes. From embarrassment of asking my husband for help, I started wearing slip-on shoes. Only in my 30s at the time, I thought my body had betrayed me and was broken. Even breathing was painful, and I never knew when my back would get stuck in extension, so that I was barely able to move. Eventually, I tried physical therapy, which helped greatly but I was still in a lot of pain. Then, after reading “Crooked” by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, where she chronicles her experience with back pain, I found Professor McGill’s books. It took me two days of serious study to go through the Back Mechanics book, including the self assessment to realize I had flexion intolerance. Finally, I had a diagnosis and understood why I was in pain and what I needed to do to fix it. No doctor in fifteen years was able to do this for me. Professor McGill explains how to avoid your pain triggers, how to move again without compromising your spine. He provides exercises to strengthen your core, that must be done daily and can simply be incorporated into any workout. Today, thanks to Professor McGill, I am stronger than ever and do daily bodyweight callisthenic workouts, love to go on long walks, and am in the best shape of my life (apart from right after basic training of course ☺.)

As a massage therapist, I have recommended this book to a number of clients with low back pain. This book is written in a clear, accessible format with exercises, changes to posture and other, and body awareness that should be fairly simple and straightforward for most people to implement. The author does a clear job of explaining why much of the conventional wisdom regarding back pain and advice about what to do for it is actually not helpful and in some cases causes more problems. Some easy adjustments I made in my own environment in regards to sitting and picking things up off the floor have actually made quite a bit of difference and I am pretty body and ergonomic aware. If you are a clinician, you might want one of his more detailed and robust versions geared towards clinicians. But for most people this book will probably be just about right.

This book is simply amazing. I overcame a herniated disc with the help of this book after nothing else worked. Dr. McGill is a life saver and I don't say that lightly. If you are determined to put an end to your back pain this book will guide you step by step towards recovery

This book is great, but the text color is hard for me to read and the page margins are too small. The text starts to go into the crease and can be hard to read at the seam. But the information in this book is great. As someone with chronic neck, back, and leg pain and nerve issues, I’ve learned a lot to help manage my pain and symptoms.

I had tried physical therapy and injections, and tens units, and dry needling to treat the arthritis and disc bulges in my lower back. I had finally arrived at a pain specialist who just gave me medicine. This book really helps you understand what type of moments you are doing to exacerbate your problem and how to change that. no Dr had ever brought any of this up, But rather made it sound like I was destined to nothing but pain and pills. I highly recommend this book and get the video section with it also. It is very helpful in diagnosing yourself so you don’t have to go to Canada to visit Dr. McGill.

I gotta tell you. This book isn't cheap and I took my chances. I have had lower back issues most of my life and now being 60 years old its finally caught up with me. I tried many/all of the standard back exercises that I had been exposed to. Little did I know, after reading this book, that they were all wrong and likely contributed to the demise of my lower back. Before you buy this, you can Google the authors name, Dr. Stuart McGill, and try out his Big 3 exercises. However, the book explains so much more about our every day posture and movements that keep the back pain from ever truly dissipating. He also provides tests you can do on yourself to find the sweet spot of your posture. I found, for example, that sitting for any period of time left me with so much pain I could not stand up, upright, upon rising from a chair. I had to slowly stand up. I now use a cushion on my chairs that has helped immensely; but you have to find the right size. I made the mistake and got one that arched my back too much. Lastly, keep in mind that this is all about not only correct posture in standing sitting and walking, but also every day movements and he even touches on some workout moves performed with correct form. Its all about spine sparing and stiff spine vs the normal PT stuff of providing flexibility to your spine. Supper important distinction. Very counter to the PT culture. If you are an athlete (and I am one) he offers another book you may want to check out after this one. (I also purchased the video series that actually explains all this further and shows you how to do certain things - well worth paying for that upgrade). THANK YOU DR. STUART MCGILL!

I had chronic back injury a few months ago and ended up in the hospital for five days I couldn’t move. I was discharged with a walker. I’ve never felt this kind of pain in my life. Went to physical theory for three weeks and all they did was worsen the pain. I was fortunate I came across Dr. McGill and purchased his book, Back Mechanic. 2.5 months into self rehab and I’m living PAIN FREE. I cannot thank Dr. McGill enough I think this book is worth so much more than $60. Thank you Dr. Stuart McGill, from the bottom of my heart.

Ordered for my friend who has a herniated L5-S1 disc. This was helpful and helped her heal faster than her her injury when we didn’t have this book to guide us. It’s hard with a back injury as there are so many conflicting recommendations but I think this author knows and understands and explains how to help better than most. She was still down in intense pain for 4 weeks and I don’t think there’s much to do during that time besides hydrate and try to get comfortable. But changing posture and doing the right things (more importantly avoiding the wrong things) will hopefully prevent recurring injuries. I’m so sorry if you’re reading this and also suffering. We did look up Stuart McGill (the author) and found a local PT certified in the McGill method and he has been so helpful. It was helpful to read the book before starting PT.

Dr. McGill is truly a master craftsman of the lumbar spine, specifically the root cause identification of pain sources and the methodical, step-by-step approach to eliminating them. Personally, I suffered from multiple bouts of referred pain in my lower extremities, on and off, for about 8 years. While the constant dull, throbbing pain in my hip, knee, and ankle from sitting in a car for long distance drives was barely tolerable, the worst aspect was the impact on my quality of life. I could not keep up any sort of a normal exercise regimen, either weightlifting or running, before encountering another major pain episode. Following Dr. McGill's approach in Back Mechanic, I was able to identify the offending postures and motions and gradually eliminate the referred pain, over a period of about 2 - 3 months. I am now able to detect the onset of mild pain, trace it to a specific event, and refocus my dilgence to suppress it, employing what Dr. McGill refers to as "good spinal hygiene"! Here are the main things I learned: 1. You are your own best advocate for your wellness. Take responsibility! a. Beware a diagnoses based on imaging alone b. Beware of passive treatments which treat symptoms (shots, pills, ultrasound, etc.) c. Like all therapy, psychological or physical, you must be an active participant d. Develop an active plan to work on your back every day. It's worth it! 2. BBM (Before Back Mechanic), many of the things I did to try to remedy the pain were absolutely wrong and actually making the pain worse a. Yoga and/or various stretches to loosen my back, hip flexors, hamstrings, etc. b. Aggressive icing c. Suspecting, and trying to relieve, Piriformis syndrome 3. My "offending" posture is hip flexion, aggravated by lumbar "rounding", and also by neck flexion a. Sitting in a chair, leaning forward with a rounded back, looking down at my phone. Ouch!!! b. Unconsciously maneuvering into a fetal-like position while sleeping (hip flexion, lumbar rounding, neck flexion) and waking with aching leg pain c. And on and on 4. Actively building a game plan to recover a. Eliminate the bad by exercising good spinal hygiene b. Start gradually with the "Big Three" core exercises c. Slowly increase your "sphere" of mobility At 56 years of age, I'm now back to squatting, deadlifting, swinging kettlebells, and running fast ... sort of. Thank you Dr. McGill!!!