Resuming gym/advice after mid back issue

With the core training, I do think there's a relationship between developing strength in some core training movements and relieving low back issues (or avoiding them). Planks, side planks, performed well.

I'm less certain that doing a high volume of ab movements like crunches, butterfly kicks etc as you'd find in a circuit class are of benefit - particularly if they're done tired and to failure, as they usually are.

With the plank type movements I feel the benefit is that you are learning to brace hard and develop what some people have called 'super stiffness' around the spine. Although all of this stuff is contested, some experts believe that that 'super stiffness' is what will prevent further back injuries and as the muscles involve get stronger it relieves symptoms. Not sure I buy it 100% but this is a model that has worked for quite a few people (Dr Stuart McGill popularised it AFAIK).

If you brace and take care when hinging and lifting, and are careful with loading and weight progressions, as Cilian mentioned, actually continuing training should help rather than hinder you.

I'm not a complete devotee of Stuart McGill, I don't know for certain that his approach is 100% right (although I'm not sure many of us have the experience he has to say what he is definitely wrong on either). BUT that being said, I think his model has relieved a lot of people's low back pain and it's hard to hurt yourself with.

He does advocate for hip and thoracic spine mobility work without loading.

Then he has his suite of movements that he believes teach proper core stability / bracing of the spine under load... These are the strength movements requiring anti flexion and anti rotation like we're talking about, mainly plank variations.

But in his approach there's always meant to be a progression and a return to sport. McGill's advanced progressions (We're talking weeks / months here, not 'advanced' in terms of years) are one handed deadlifts, one sided farmer's walks and advanced planks where there's movement or instability, and one handed plank variations. At that stage he'll already have people having reintroduced pull-ups, kettlebell swings and squat and deadlift variations. I remember when I first read his work - it was Ultimate Upper Back Fitness and Performance, around 2005, which was more of a book intended for clinicians - I was surprised how much his programming looked like conventional S&C once you were past the early phases.

I found his approach less risk-averse than the likes of Mike Boyle. McGill might prefer a front squat to a low bar back squat, but he's not saying no heavy bilateral squats ever again.

When it comes to Jefferson curls, like rounded back deadlifts I think it depends who's doing them, how intelligently they load, and what their goal is. I can see how they allow for people to try to get truly segmented spinal movement in a way that a quadruped spinal flexion movement like cat camel doesn't, although debatable whether that's a good thing if you're in the McGill camp.

Stefi Cohen's book "Back in Motion" is on my shelf but I haven't read all of it. She very much based her back rehab on Stuart McGill's work at the outset but the book is a really interesting counterpoint, it's 60% him, 40% her then pushing back against his approach. She's less conservative than him, but still no Jefferson curls in the rehab program.

Yes, I've heard / read the pig spines argument and thought "surely McGill should be given a bit more credit", I just don't see him as likely to be oblivious to such a big hole in his work.

He says cadaver studies were only part of his research, and in fairness if you look at his written output then even going back to the Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance book a lot of the studies mentioned relate to live athletes. Pavel Tsatsouline in one instance, in a kettlebell swing study.

His somewhat irritated response to questions about pig spine studies and other topics is here: Microsoft Word - Spine flexion myths truths and issues (backfitpro.com)

In general while I agree that the human body is durable, adaptable and has a capability to heal (even the spine) I also don't see a difficulty in applying learning that is a little more nuanced if we have it. I mean, adaptation in the muscles around the spine I can see happening, and movement patterns improving... But disc makeup or the shape / diameter of disc someone has is likely to be more fixed I would think.

Although sometimes McGill is sometimes accused of encouraging catastrophising I would say again there are probably worse offenders, maybe some of them citing his work without reading it in detail. In the very first chapter of McGill's book he lays out as a starting point that serious back pain is not a life sentence, and that it can be addressed conservatively through training. I've always thought his tone is pretty positive.

It's good that your clients report feeling less pain, although - genuine questions - (1) how do you know it's the Jefferson curls and not a benefit they are accruing from some or all of the other training they're likely doing from you? And (2) have you considered there might be a bit of a placebo going on in terms of the pain level they're reporting, because people obviously report great relief from back pain having done everything from static stretching to yoga to pilates to chiropractic visits and so on.

Great points, I must read some of his critics in more detail.

I was going to say that I was trying to figure out exactly what he was saying about his interactions with BJJ athletes in the document I linked to.

BJJ is one sport where people are constantly in compressed positions where their low backs and necks are rounded. The spine is flexed under load AND there can be rotational forces. I know someone might say that can arise in any sport or everyday life, but I think the situations are more common in BJJ. Obviously there is a significant amount of people leaving the sport because of back and neck pain.

Curious what McGill did with them.

In the BJJ community there are a lot of people who believe the answer to this problem of back and neck pain is yoga or mobility work. I am in a funny position because even though I'm yoga for BJJ certified I always say the reason I've had zero disc issues on the mats for 10+ years at this stage is all down to heavy compound lifts and direct neck training. I said that at a yoga for BJJ instructor weekend and it was as if I'd done a very loud fart.