Back Resilience Coaching with Brian Carroll

Are you back pained? Have you exhausted the hamster wheel of going to appointment after appointment with no answers? Are you left wondering why your clinician isn’t spending more than 10-15min with you before hurrying to the next appointment? For you, maybe it’s time to try a different route.

One common daily question is how to work with me to get out of back pain and how the process works. This article will give you my suggested (not mandatory, highly recommended) steps to work with me. I have been fortunate enough to help dozens of people with back pain and become resilient again. The key here is help; I cannot do the work for you. I can only help guide you. Most of the success depends upon the client to wind down their pain, follow the program I suggest, and not break the “code.” It takes time to heal a back injury; we aren’t just talking about a few weeks.

Step 1: Read Back Mechanic and GOI

Next suggested Step: Read Back Mechanic and do the back pain assessment, illustrated in the book, in a step-by-step fool-proof process. I recommend getting the video-enhanced version of Back Mechanic as it has a video link of Dr. McGill walking you through the entire assessment and coaching process. I can’t overstate how important this component is. Once you have read Back Mechanic, the next read is Gift of Injury. Gift of Injury is my story (co-authored with Dr. Stuart McGill) of debilitating back pain and returning to the top of powerlifting once again, 100% pain and symptom-free. It addresses the psychological aspect of injury, and you see the tenants of Back Mechanic and the progressions back to lifting applied.

Step 2: Book a Virtual Consult

Once you have purchased and read the books, please book an online consultation. I suggest two hours to start for those who have been dealing with a complicated back issue for years. For many, an hour is a good start, but unfortunately, the 30min slots are only for follow-ups as it’s not enough time to do any honest assessment. For those wanting in-person coaching & consulting, we must still start with an online assessment to ensure I can even help you. Unfortunately, some people are beyond my help, and if I don’t feel I can help you, we will not proceed and I will refer you elsewhere.

Step 3: In-person coaching

With the pandemic of 2020, we saw a mighty shift in online business and coaching. My business model was already in full effect, so it wasn’t much of a change. I can help many who reach out to me virtually with video consultation. But, there is no substitute for in-person assessment, coaching, and cueing. Some of you will need an in-person session. We can still progress virtually in most cases, but there comes a time when an athlete or client will need in-person coaching, and I offer this as well. But again, we start with a video call to start the process.

Many of you can get better from the books alone

I’ve seen this many times and read hundreds of testimonials of back-injured people who can return to a pain-free living just from following along in Back Mechanic and Gift of Injury books. Some with more complicated back cases will need IN-PERSON assessment, coaching, and progress assistance. At the same time, others want to be virtually coached through the evaluation and wish to avoid the pressure of figuring out their winning formula on their own. Finally, some people like me to review their program and see why it’s not working or get my thoughts on their progressions, keep them on track with weekly checkins, etc. I offer feedback on all this through my virtual video consultations.

While reading both Back Mechanic and Gift of Injury are not necessarily non-negotiables for a potential client, I highly suggest they become familiar with the material for the client to be empowered with information that will help them live a better life and to refer back to during the times I’m not directly consulting them.