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Low Back Disorders by Stuart McGill

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Great book to find out about low back pain.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

90 people are currently reading
714 people want to read

About the author

Stuart McGill

12 books93 followers
Stuart McGill, PhD, is a professor at the University of Waterloo in, Ontario, Canada and an internationally recognized lecturer and expert in spine function and injury prevention and rehabilitation. He has written more than 200 scientific publications that address 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. Dr. McGill has been an invited lecturer at many universities and delivered more than 200 addresses to societies around the world. As a consultant, he has provided expertise on assessment and reduction of the risk of low back injury to government agencies, corporations, professional athletes and teams, and legal firms. He is one of the few scientists who consults and to whom patients are regularly referred.

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5 stars
157 (61%)
4 stars
68 (26%)
3 stars
25 (9%)
2 stars
4 (1%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
11 reviews
May 15, 2018
Intended for practitioners so included data I as a mere back pain sufferer didn't look at in too much detail (though good to know it's there unlike other sources of information about the back. The portions of the book I read were useful in terms of exercises and tests, though I need to really need pick up the lay-audience targeted Back Mechanic.
Profile Image for Enlightened Idiot.
54 reviews2 followers
December 18, 2025
Rating is for all the works of Stuart McGill I have read so far.

It’s what it says on the cover: evidence based back health… but also a lot more.
To some extent the writing is lacking, it’s more for a general audience than professionals. But this only means there is less Kauderwelsch and more down to earth sentences. Also some insight into legal matters, although not detailed it will make some decisions by doctors very see-through for the patient.

Most clinical evidence in the book also appears to reflect whatever professional athletes and workers practice.
Doctors would say the deadlift is dangerous, practice says the form makes weights less dangerous and so does this book backed by research.
It was about time an engineer looked into how the body works.
If I could go back in time I would take Arnold’s book from my hands after finishing it, slap myself as hard as needed to sober up and put “Ultimate back fitness and performance” into my hands.

Either way, buyer beware: all the works heavily deal with dynamic disc bulges, or the flexion type of back hurt with only minor mentions of other types of issues. This is me included whose master clinician found I was actually extension intolerant and had bad hips.

Information in the books is very needed though as I would have offended myself less and had been off happier if I had not heeded to locally acknowledged medicine based on mythological claims by “musings of individuals who have reached the end of their expertise” as McGill puts it.
If you know someone with back troubles, stop sending them instagram reels from randos and send them a podcast with the Doc on it - it’ll help more.
Profile Image for Tiarnán.
322 reviews74 followers
June 9, 2018
Useful book for anyone with back pain. McGill is one of the few practitioners who combines clinical insights and 'what works' with hard experimental science and data. Follow his 'big three' and combine that with isometric strength training and you can stabilise your back pain, or even begin to reduce it.
214 reviews4 followers
June 5, 2023
Useful clinical text. Struggles in that it's also partly written for a public audience, not to understand, but for them to KNOW that McGill has written this - causing confusions with levels of detail and random spats of narrative that don't fit and give an incorrect anecdotal view for very diverse explanations.
Profile Image for Sebastian.
Author 20 books66 followers
March 16, 2019
I wish I found this book (and the author, of course) earlier in my life, it would helped me more than now. The book is very explicative for everyone who is in need for expertise upon low back problems.
Profile Image for Leigh.
202 reviews
June 2, 2025
Excellent, informative, new (to me) info about back movement patterns and spine mechanics that are giving me hope. I bought Back Mechanic for slightly easier self-help language for the non-professional. I'm hoping this new perspective will finally help my son get some relief from chronic back pain.
86 reviews2 followers
November 25, 2021
An eloquent combination of wisdom, scientific evidence and years of clinical practice.
95 reviews4 followers
August 8, 2024
A laborious read. But to the right reader, a clear route to ridding yourself of back pain.
Profile Image for Jarrod Payne.
2 reviews
July 7, 2017
Great technical read for people with back pain

This is an in-depth and scientific look at back pain research, assessment and treatment. If you're a consultant or technically minded reader you will enjoy the thorough unpacking of the topic area.

If you are not interested in this level of depth or find anatomy conversations boring or difficult I would read Back Mechanic instead. This is unashamedly as resource for the physical treatment industry.
Profile Image for Reid.
34 reviews
November 8, 2012
Excellent book. For clinicians, not laypeople, but I learned too much in any case. My basic knowledge of spinal anatomy limited but did not completely blunt my education (you should know what "microfracturing of the transverse tribeculae" means without too much wondering.). This is not for consumers.
Profile Image for Gustav Yulius.
3 reviews1 follower
October 8, 2016
The book is very resourceful for a sciatica sufferer like me. It is simple and full of eye-opening knowledge on how to care for my low back. I know which unsafe posture and exercises to avoid. The five-stage back training program is very make sense. I am now undergoing the rehab by focusing on stabilizing my spine first. Hopefully with time and discipline I can begin to see the results.
Profile Image for Lee.
2 reviews
September 12, 2012
Anyone struggling with lower back injuries or working with people with lower back disorders should pick this up. Some of his ideas are pretty much a-DUH but how he effortlessly explains himself is brilliant.
Profile Image for Kayla Purdum.
4 reviews1 follower
January 4, 2013
Good for learning proper strengthening of low back. First free read I did at chiropractic school. Very educational
Profile Image for Chris.
762 reviews
January 23, 2016
This is a book for practitioners, not lay people (who have low back disorders(,
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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