Back Pain: Stuart McGill and the Big 3

health , pain management , physical health

Back pain is one of the most common and debilitating conditions. Stuart McGill’s research changed how we think about it: the spine should stay stiff while motion comes from the hips and shoulders.

Stuart McGill And the Big 3
The Big 3 Exercises
Spine Stiffness Requires Hip and Shoulder Mobility
The 5 Whys Applied to Back Pain
Books
See Also

Stuart McGill And the Big 3

If you’ve heard of the McGill Big 3, that’s this guy. Trivia tidbits:

He did self experimentation by sticking a needle into every muscle and zapping it with electricity to improve diagnosis
He broke his cervical spine
He is Canadian, and a professor at Waterloo (my Alma Mater)

The Big 3 Exercises

The McGill Big 3 are isometric exercises that build muscular endurance with minimal spinal load:

Curl-up - NOT a crunch. One leg bent, hands under lower back, lift head and shoulders slightly
Side plank - Modified version on knees if needed. Focus on endurance, not duration
Bird dog - On hands and knees, extend opposite arm and leg while keeping spine neutral

The key insight: these build endurance, not strength. Your stabilizer muscles need to work all day, not just lift heavy once.

Spine Stiffness Requires Hip and Shoulder Mobility

Your back is supposed to stay straight (especially your lower back), and your motion is supposed to come from your hips and shoulders (ball and socket joints).

If your hips or shoulders are stiff, your back will compensate by moving - and that’s where injuries happen.

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The 5 Whys Applied to Back Pain

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Why Pain?
- Tightness
Why Tightness?
- Body protecting from injury
Why Protecting From Injury?
- Body feels instability in joints
Why unstable?
- Lack of muscular endurance

This is what’s great about the McGill Big 3 - it’s isometrics to build endurance, as opposed to strength. And it does so with minimal back load (which would worsen the injury).

Books