McGill Method Certified Practitioner | In-Person McGill Assessment at PRS HQ
If you’re struggling with back pain and feeling frustrated by treatments that haven’t worked for you, please know that you’re not alone. Many people share your experience, and Brian Carroll, McGill Method Certified Practitioner is here to support you on your journey toward relief and improved performance. With a compassionate approach, we aim to understand your unique situation and craft a personalized plan that meets your specific needs.
Brian Carroll brings over a decade of experience from his close collaboration with Professor Stuart McGill, co-author of Gift of Injury. While Brian is not a medical doctor and does not provide medical advice, his insights are deeply rooted in his experience with the McGill method as a client first in his own recovery journey, as well as the success stories of countless clients he has worked with from average Joes to UFC Fighters, to Green Berets. His commitment is to help you find hope and direction. Regardless of the end goal, the main goal is to identify, remove, and heal from back pain.
If you’ve faced disappointment with medications or surgeries that haven’t delivered the results you hoped for, or are tired of seeing your medical provider for 10 minutes at a time, Brian offers a unique approach that only a few in the world are certified to apply.
Brian works with clients of all populations and demographics. Whether you’re an athlete (Runner, Swimmer, Football, Baseball, Pickleball, Tennis, Biking, Motocross, Golf, Bodybuilders, Powerlifters, Weight lifters, Squash players, etc.), a military member, or someone just looking for relief, we’re here for you.
1. Begin by reading Back Mechanic and Gift of Injury. The video-enhanced version of Back Mechanic is especially helpful for visual learners, guiding you to understand and self-assess your pain triggers while establishing a solid foundation for pain-free activities. This method has helped 95% of patients avoid surgery, offering a sense of hope and empowerment. Gift of Injury further inspires by sharing stories of overcoming severe back injuries and returning to the sports or goals that matter most to you—much like Brian Carroll did in 2013.
2. Prepare yourself for a different approach. Most likely, you have tried traditional approaches, so with the McGill Method we have to be much more targeted, this is why we need to spend time together, and the McGill Method assessments last 3hr or longer when working on progressions, and Brian does these on Monday-Friday.
*Brian, will work during the weekend when possible. If you have any questions, or concerns, or need after-hours care and consulting, please visit the FAQ page, and click the red “Contact Brian” button. He truly cares about your well-being and will do his utmost to meet your needs. Remember, you don’t have to face this journey alone; support is available to help you find relief.*
(1) What is your story? How are you doing? Has anyone ever asked you this? The assessment always starts with understanding your story: your athletic history, goals, and any previous back pain you may have forgotten. We’ll cover when the pain began, its duration and intensity, and past treatments. We will also review your daily activities and exercise routines to understand how these factors might affect your condition.
(2) Assessment: The physical assessment consists of various tests to evaluate your posture, movement patterns, and how you respond to load (flexion, compression, extension, shear, etc) on specific tissues. What provokes your back pain, and what does not. Please bring your MRI(s), as this is part of the assessment, and you may not have been told your entire story.
(3) Coaching: Exercise, posture, and movement coaching can help you move around the painful triggers, allowing you to build pain-free capacity and return to a life free of back pain, tailored to your specific and unique daily demands.
(4) Summary and Prognosis: Brian will analyze your case in detail, explaining the findings, the causes of your pain, and how they relate to your daily activities and future endeavors, whether a weekend warrior or a pro ball player.
(5) Custom Plan: You will receive a personalized training plan tailored to your limitations and needs, featuring exercises to improve movement patterns and enhance overall resilience. The aim is to reduce pain and prevent future injuries while rebuilding pain-free ability.
(6) Education and Guidance: The assessment and emailed report include specialized education about proper movement techniques and strategies to avoid pain triggers. You’ll learn how to perform daily activities in a way that protects your spine and supports your recovery.
(7) Follow-Up: The McGill assessment includes a follow-up video call to help further your recovery and exercise progressions. All other follow-ups will be booked separately.
Note: Athletes and those interested in returning to sport or lifting may need additional hours or follow-up sessions beyond the 3-hour back pain assessment with Brian to further build progressions and workshop additional exercises and movements.
Power Rack Strength HQ
1302 Eastport Road Unit B Jacksonville, FL 32218
USD $1499 Flat Rate ($499 Deposit Due Upfront to confirm your appointment). The remaining balance is due upon service delivery. Very few assessments are over in 2 hours, while others are closer to 4 hours; some, when progressing back to sport or lifting, can be longer depending on the goals and needs of the client. This assessment is limited to 3 hours. Those with complicated injury mechanisms and complex cases may require extra time for the McGill Assessment. If more time is needed, Brain will communicate this to you. Extra time added is $449 an hour. Other services, such as lifting progressions, are available. These services will be priced separately from the assessment price.
Add-On Services:
Lift Progression Coaching – $349 an hr
The McGill Method was developed by world-renowned spine expert, Professor Stuart McGill, with over 32 years of scientific research and 250+ published studies on the lumbar spine in both the laboratory and clinic. Over the decades, he has helped thousands of individuals around the world get out of pain for good, and even return to world record-breaking athletic performance.
As a McGill Certified Practitioner, Brian Carroll has training in assisting clients in reducing the risk of disabling low back pain and injury, optimizing their health outcomes, and enhancing their performance. Brian Carroll has studied how to use information obtained from history taking and movement assessment to better match corrective/therapeutic and performance enhancement exercises. He is also experienced in identifying nuances of techniques to reduce a client’s pain.
This gives the client a foundation of knowledge of the McGill approach and optimizes the session for both patient and practitioner. The patient is thoroughly and extensively assessed through an interview and physical testing and educated on specific movements according to their pain triggers. Findings are documented on the cause of pain/dysfunction. This includes a plan to avoid the cause and a guide to a progressive therapeutic program according to the patient’s goals.
Click image for larger view.
Location: PRS HQ Jax, FL
$499.99 USD
Anyone looking for hands-on coaching for the big-3 lifts, program design, exercise execution, programming progressions, form checks, etc. I do it all but in a minimum of 120min blocks.
Foreword by Bill Kazmaier, 3 time World’s Strongest Man:
“I implore any strength athlete, whether they are injured and at their wit’s end, or healthy and striving to achieve their best with longevity, to read this book. The wisdom in these pages has helped me and Brian Carroll, and it will help you.”
From Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman, StrongFirst, Inc.:
“Gift of Injury is an extraordinary book that proves the adage that safety is not the opposite of performance but a part of it. Packed with priceless cues, it is a must for every serious strength athlete and coach.“
“As a doctor working out of Pasadena, I have been studying the work of Professor McGill for the past two years. I can say with the credentials and authority of a medical insider that McGill’s teachings are light years ahead of the conventional medical approach. And I can attest to this effect from my own professional experience in the demanding domains of both pain medicine and occupational medicine. I’m now able to consistently restore bad backs with what I learned from Professor McGill’s books and courses. One intriguing aspect of Professor McGill’s clinical practice is his work with elite athletes with low back pain. Many of these athletes have seen “top” spine specialists around the world and been told they had career ending injuries. They are lost–until they find Professor McGill.
The story of Brian Carroll is one such story. It is the story of an improbable comeback from a devastating spine injury. As a world-record setting lifter, Carroll loaded his spine to extremes that boggle the imagination. When a host of injuries and excessive training and competition broke his spine down, the conventional medical establishment said all that was left for him was surgery, athletic retirement and probable lifelong disability. (For the medically inclined: he had a complete fracture of L5 with a deep split fracture in his sacrum.) The journey from that nadir, with Carroll contemplating suicide after a particularly depressing visit to a back surgeon, to his return to a champion lifter again seems miraculous.
Except it’s not a miracle–it’s what happens when science combined with clinical wisdom meets an athlete who who will not give up on the dream. Professor McGill discusses the scientific principles and specific program he used to restore Carroll to elite form. In these pages you will find a story told in alternate parts by McGill and Carroll. It is part memoir of Carroll, part primer for how the McGill method works, part instructional guide for lifting and spine recovery all told through the prism of one man’s injury. It is a story of ambition, loss, healing, friendship and overcoming the odds to become better than you ever were–after you’ve been left for dead. What is the gift of injury? The possibility of resurrection of not just a spine and a career, but of a man. This masterpiece tells you how.”
“It’s a brilliant, fantastic book, one that should be the standard of the fitness industry! It’s a rare book that honestly confronts, analyzes and fixes the athlete. Oh, sure, you can find books with little band stretches, mobility work and some time in the tub, but Stu McGill and Brian Carroll take us inside both the athlete’s and the therapist’s minds. Section Two alone is a book in itself; it is more of a weekend workshop showing what the best and brightest do in their approach to training.
There are so many insights throughout the book, but this little hint really made me think: Brian walked 15 minutes a day with free swinging arms before every meal as part of his back injury fix. It just struck me that this simple point was the culmination of so many tests, discussions and hands on work…and it is so simple, logical, and practical.”
“This book is a must have for all athletes and coaches alike, the best of its kind.”
“If you have suffered from back pain (as I have) and have begun to give up hope of ever getting out of pain then you MUST read this book. If anything, Brian Carroll’s story will give you hope.
The book if chock full of information and ways to take control of your life, back and pain. It’s especially geared towards the powerlifter, but I suspect most athletes can relate and will benefit from the information contained in this book. This is the kind of book you read and wish someone would have put it into your hands years ago!”
From Claudia:
“I went to see Brian last July (2021). I was in pain (low back) for almost a year straight. Brian did a thorough assessment to explain how to heal my injury; He also explained the process and the importance of stepping back from lifting. I followed his guidance. For seven months didn’t touch a bar. Then, I did the same exercises for seven months to build a resilient core. Finally, 2.5 months ago, I started to lift again. I could not recommend Brian more. He is super knowledgeable and passionate about helping others. He also has a tremendous understanding of the human body and weightlifting. I am now pain-free and pushing toward competition again! Thank you, Brian!”
Sawyer Levy: “I came to Brian about a compression fracture I got on my L3 in late February 2021 due to an accident sustained outside lifting. Reading Brian’s story in Gift of Injury drew me to seek his help. Brian helped me get on the right track with recovery, but the biggest thing was hearing from a powerlifter that had been through this before to stay away from the gym even if I thought I could continue to train. Not just hearing it from the doctor. Brian got me on the right track using the principles of the McGill method, and I am experiencing the benefits of that now. I will continue to work with Brian and recommend any powerlifter, strongman, Olympic lifter, etc., that has a back break or any back injury to do the same. Thank you, Brian.”
Contact Brian Carroll