Exploring the Root Causes of Chronic Back Pain and What to Do About It with Dr. Stuart McGill

Dhru Purohit Show

This episode is brought to you by Birch, Plunge, and AquaTru.

Back pain is a common affliction exacerbated by our modern and sedentary lifestyles. This discomfort frequently hinders work and daily activities. Our guest today delves into the back's anatomy, identifying movements—or lack thereof—that contribute to pain and discussing factors contributing to its increasing prevalence.

Today, on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru and Dr. Stuart McGill delve deep into back pain. Dr. McGill shares insights into why back pain is so prevalent, dispels myths surrounding it, and discusses the types of repetitive stress and strain that can lead to chronic pain. He also outlines his approach to treating back pain and highlights the limitations clinicians face in treating their patients.

Dr. Stuart McGill is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo and the chief scientific officer at Backfitpro Inc. McGill has written more than 300 scientific publications on the topics of lumbar function, low back injury mechanisms, investigation of tissue loading during rehabilitation programs, and the formulation of work-related injury avoidance strategies. He has received several awards for his work, including the Volvo Bioengineering Award for Low Back Pain Research from Sweden.

In this episode, Dhru and Dr. McGill dive into (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):

• The prevalence of back pain (00:00:36 / 00:00:36)
• Drivers of back pain in our modern world (3:17 / 3:17)
• Repetitive stress and strain that leads to back pain (12:00 / 8:36)
• Types of training and how to choose what is best (22:00 / 17:50)
• Dr. McGill’s Origin story (34:00 / 28:00)
• The myth of non-specific back pain (49:00 / 43:50)
• How to find an appropriate clinician (57:00 / 52:17)
• The Big Three principles to prevent back pain (1:04:00 / 59:06)
• Ancestors ability to engage in a variety of movements (1:15:00 / 1:10:10)
• Training in cycles (1:23:00 / 1:18:27)
• Advice for Dhru’s pain (1:33:00 / 1:28:00)
• Dr. McGill’s Seven-Day Approach (1:37:00 / 1:32:30)
• Strengthen what is weak and stretch what is tight (1:47:00 /1:52:30)

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. McGill’s book, Back Mechanic
• BackFitPro.com
• Spine Models

For more on Dr. McGill, follow him on Instagram or his website.

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