Menu
Sign In Search Podcasts Charts People & Topics Add Podcast API Blog Pricing

Stuart McGill

๐Ÿ‘ค Speaker
897 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

If a person was told, you've tried everything, you've been to the chiropractor, you've been to the physical therapist, the osteopath, you've had a surgical consult, you've been to the psychologist, et cetera, and you failed every single one of them. So basically, you've been conditioned to fail. We tried a process called virtual surgery. So I'm defining the group now.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

You've tried everything and you've been told the last thing for you is surgery. That's the subcategory of people that we're now going to talk about. And I'll say, fine, you can go and roll the dice and have surgery. Most of them don't want it, obviously. And I'll say, but what we're going to do is try virtual surgery. And I make a bit of a production out of it. I anoint them like a knight.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

You've tried everything and you've been told the last thing for you is surgery. That's the subcategory of people that we're now going to talk about. And I'll say, fine, you can go and roll the dice and have surgery. Most of them don't want it, obviously. And I'll say, but what we're going to do is try virtual surgery. And I make a bit of a production out of it. I anoint them like a knight.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

You've tried everything and you've been told the last thing for you is surgery. That's the subcategory of people that we're now going to talk about. And I'll say, fine, you can go and roll the dice and have surgery. Most of them don't want it, obviously. And I'll say, but what we're going to do is try virtual surgery. And I make a bit of a production out of it. I anoint them like a knight.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

I touch them on the shoulder and I say, that's your surgery. And I'm looking into their eyes. And now I give them one of these. We're looking into each other's soul now. You've had surgery. You're going to behave like you've had surgery. Tomorrow, your first post-surgical recovery day, you're going to lay in bed, relax, get up for a pee every two or three hours, have short little shuffles.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

I touch them on the shoulder and I say, that's your surgery. And I'm looking into their eyes. And now I give them one of these. We're looking into each other's soul now. You've had surgery. You're going to behave like you've had surgery. Tomorrow, your first post-surgical recovery day, you're going to lay in bed, relax, get up for a pee every two or three hours, have short little shuffles.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

I touch them on the shoulder and I say, that's your surgery. And I'm looking into their eyes. And now I give them one of these. We're looking into each other's soul now. You've had surgery. You're going to behave like you've had surgery. Tomorrow, your first post-surgical recovery day, you're going to lay in bed, relax, get up for a pee every two or three hours, have short little shuffles.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

The next day, we'll add a little bit more, et cetera. We give you a post-surgical recovery program, a really good one. And then we start tuning the body strategically, stability, mobility, eventually adding a little bit of endurance long before strength, and then getting the movement patterns, et cetera.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

The next day, we'll add a little bit more, et cetera. We give you a post-surgical recovery program, a really good one. And then we start tuning the body strategically, stability, mobility, eventually adding a little bit of endurance long before strength, and then getting the movement patterns, et cetera.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

The next day, we'll add a little bit more, et cetera. We give you a post-surgical recovery program, a really good one. And then we start tuning the body strategically, stability, mobility, eventually adding a little bit of endurance long before strength, and then getting the movement patterns, et cetera.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

If the person was an exercise addict as well, so you can imagine the person who has the personality that you're describing. They tell me in the interview, you know, I have to ride the elliptical for 40 minutes every day because if I don't, I'm going to murder my kids and my husband because that's my stress relief. Not literally, but that's what they'll say as painting the picture.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

If the person was an exercise addict as well, so you can imagine the person who has the personality that you're describing. They tell me in the interview, you know, I have to ride the elliptical for 40 minutes every day because if I don't, I'm going to murder my kids and my husband because that's my stress relief. Not literally, but that's what they'll say as painting the picture.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

If the person was an exercise addict as well, so you can imagine the person who has the personality that you're describing. They tell me in the interview, you know, I have to ride the elliptical for 40 minutes every day because if I don't, I'm going to murder my kids and my husband because that's my stress relief. Not literally, but that's what they'll say as painting the picture.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

Right. Or exercise. Okay. So they've won that negotiation with every previous clinician. Well, they're not going to win it with me because all I care about is outcome. My job is to get them better. by whatever means. So I have to tame that. Surgery works in a lot of cases because it's forced rest. Surgery for that exercise addict forced them to have rest and allowed them to desensitize.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

Right. Or exercise. Okay. So they've won that negotiation with every previous clinician. Well, they're not going to win it with me because all I care about is outcome. My job is to get them better. by whatever means. So I have to tame that. Surgery works in a lot of cases because it's forced rest. Surgery for that exercise addict forced them to have rest and allowed them to desensitize.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

Right. Or exercise. Okay. So they've won that negotiation with every previous clinician. Well, they're not going to win it with me because all I care about is outcome. My job is to get them better. by whatever means. So I have to tame that. Surgery works in a lot of cases because it's forced rest. Surgery for that exercise addict forced them to have rest and allowed them to desensitize.

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

So we fake it and we do it. Now for the evidence, we followed up with every patient and in a two-year follow-up, 95% of those people who avoided surgery but did the virtual surgery were glad that they did?

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

So we fake it and we do it. Now for the evidence, we followed up with every patient and in a two-year follow-up, 95% of those people who avoided surgery but did the virtual surgery were glad that they did?

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

So we fake it and we do it. Now for the evidence, we followed up with every patient and in a two-year follow-up, 95% of those people who avoided surgery but did the virtual surgery were glad that they did?

Huberman Lab
Dr. Stuart McGill: Build a Strong, Pain-Proof Back

That's an argument that's used a lot. However, as I said, I've done the work and I've done the follow-up, and I have an opinion for a reason. We start out by giving them the tools to not have pain. from a physical point of view, that's really important. From a psychological point of view, we've just empowered that person. They are now in control because they never had the tools.