Mcgill Low Back

[Laila Berri]

Asa consultant, he has provided expertise on low back injury to various government agencies, many corporations and legal firms and professional/international athletes and teams world-wide. He is regularly referred special patient cases from the international medical community for opinion (Clinic now in Gravenhurst Ontario).

At the University of Waterloo he taught courses in occupational biomechanics (reducing the risk of occupationally related musculoskeletal disorders), general biomechanics, injury biomechanics, low back disorders, and graduate level courses in advanced biomechanics, and instrumentation and signal processing.

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

This website provides evidence-based information and quality products that help to prevent and rehabilitate back pain. All back pain has a cause. Professor McGill dedicated 32 years to investigating how the spine works, the mechanisms of pain, and proven ways to eliminate pain and restore pain-free activity.

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Dr. Stuart McGill, Professor Emeritus of Spine Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, Canada has demonstrated in his research that enhancing your ENDURANCE is important in helping you manage your low back pain.

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Stuart McGill, Ph.D., a distinguished professor emeritus of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo and a world expert on spine anatomy and physiology, back pain, and rehabilitation. We discuss the most common sources of back pain, how back pain can be assessed (including self-assessment techniques), and how to design a personalized recovery plan to reduce back pain.

We also discuss controversial issues in the back pain and rehabilitation field, including how pain originates, the biopsychosocial model of pain, and treatments such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP). This episode provides clear, actionable tools to strengthen, prevent, and remedy back pain and injury so you can be pain-free while enjoying sports, exercise, and daily activities at any age.

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[Purpose] The aim of this study was to compare the effects of "McGill stabilization exercises" and "conventional physiotherapy" on pain, functional disability and active back flexion and extension range of motion in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty four patients with chronic non-specific low back pain were randomly assigned to McGill stabilization exercises group (n=17) and conventional physiotherapy group (n=17). In both groups, patients performed the corresponding exercises for six weeks. The visual analog scale (VAS), Quebec Low Back Pain Disability Scale Questionnaire and inclinometer were used to measure pain, functional disability, and active back flexion and extension range of motion, respectively. [Results] Statistically significant improvements were observed in pain, functional disability, and active back extension range of motion in McGill stabilization exercises group. However, active back flexion range of motion was the only clinical symptom that statistically increased in patients who performed conventional physiotherapy. There was no significant difference between the clinical characteristics while compared these two groups of patients. [Conclusion] The results of this study indicated that McGill stabilization exercises and conventional physiotherapy provided approximately similar improvement in pain, functional disability, and active back range of motion in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. However, it appears that McGill stabilization exercises provide an additional benefit to patients with chronic non-specific low back, especially in pain and functional disability improvement.

A lot of Canadians have recently made a shift to working at home. While most of us know that plopping ourselves on the couch with a laptop on our legs isn't the most ergonomic choice, few of us have much experience in setting up our own workspace or the right furniture and equipment on-hand.

We reached out to Dr. Stuart McGill to find out how we can make the shift to working at home while minimizing the chance of injury. McGill is Professor emeritus of Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, and author of Back Mechanic: The step by step McGill Method to fix back pain, and Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation.

McGill says that back pain and work-related injuries are caused when we put too much stress on the tissues in our bodies. And the stresses on our bodies can vary with force (e.g. the weight of the object we're lifting), repetition, and time.

When we recently talked to him about posture fixer-uppers (read more here), McGill said our posture distributes these stresses throughout the body. Some postures put a lot of stress in specific areas, and therefore can cause problems in a short amount of time. For example, he says, "Lying in bed with your head propped up on a pillow and your laptop on your knees is the path to pain for both your neck and low back."

Sitting in an upright position will provide a more even distribution of stress, but this doesn't mean that holding that posture all day will spare your back. This is because if you spend too much time in any one posture the stresses accumulate and can cause damage. This means that there is no such thing as "perfect posture", nor is there a perfectly designed ergonomic chair that makes you impervious to back pain.

Instead, McGill thinks that things like strategically planning your work day, varying your position, and building core fitness can all preserve your back health more effectively than the most expensive ergonomic furniture. These are his top tips for staying healthy and pain-free while working from home.

1. Avoid "bad" postures: While there's no perfect posture for longer periods of time, some postures are worse for almost everyone because they put a lot of stress in vulnerable areas. Lying down with your head propped up puts a lot of pressure on your neck. Slouching puts strain on your lower back and will be more problematic for people who get back pain. Instead, try to keep your spine in a natural neutral position (preserving the hollow arch in the low back).

2. Desk set-up basics: Adjust the height of the monitor to maintain a level gaze and de-stress the neck. You can use things like books to raise the height of a laptop or desktop. Rest the heels of the palms on a rest and type. Increase text size or wear computer glasses to reduce the need to poke the head forward to read the screen.

3. Switch chairs throughout the day: McGill recommends switching between different chairs or sitting surfaces. Some people find comfort sitting on a gym ball for half an hour then changing to an office chair. The key here is not to spend too long in any single position. Change positions to migrate stress to different tissues.

4. Adjust your chair, then adjust it again: The notion that an ergonomic chair is a cure-all is a myth. The best ergonomic chair isn't the one that can achieve the "best" position; it's one that facilitates posture change. If you have a chair that allows you to adjust the height and angle of the seat and backrest, use those features to vary your position frequently.

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