While anyone can suffer a back injury that leaves them in debilitating pain at any time of their lives, it is especially hard on an athlete, for whom a back injury can mean an end to their sporting career. Even non-professional athletes can be severely impacted by an injury that prevents them from taking part in the sport they love, but back injury doesn’t have to be a life sentence – as demonstrated in the video above.

The injury

The strength athlete that Dr Stuart McGill treated is very typical of sportspeople that we see every day, who have been at the top of their game, but have suffered an injury that has left them in constant pain. Rather than being an end to their competing days, however, it’s often the start of a new chapter for them. The science of back pain allows us to slowly re-introduce training into the life of the athlete, building new layers of calcium in the back through exercise that can gradually take more weight, until eventually it is possible to start basic training regime

All in the mind

While a physical injury to a sportsperson is painful and debilitating, the psychological element to the injury is also something that needs to be overcome. Feelings of hopelessness and despair can make the road to recovery harder, the barrier they erect in the mind can be just as difficult to break as the underlying physical problems that cause the back injury.

We understand the mental issues that can often come with a physical injury, and we believe the best way to tackle those issues is through a solid understanding of the science behind an injury so that the injured athlete understands how their training will make them fit again. We work with you to design a bespoke training programme that slowly builds both resilience and confidence, that heals not just the physical injury, but also the mental barriers that hold the injured back.

By combining a slow re-introduction of physical capability into a training system, with the mental resilience to keep pushing against an injury, we can help athletes turn their injury into a strength.