Solo episode (Andrew Huberman): Andrew Huberman is a Stanford professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology and host of the Huberman Lab podcast. This is a solo episode synthesizing the work of Dr. Stuart McGill, Dr. Sean Wheeler, and Dr. Kelly Starrett.
What this episode covers
Huberman opens with accessible back anatomy and physiology, explaining the vertebrae-disc-spinal cord structure and how disc herniation impinges nerve roots to cause pain. He then walks through roughly a dozen no-cost, no-equipment protocols: Stuart McGill's 'big three' (curl-up, side plank, bird dog), pain-relief moves (supported bar hang, Cobra/up-dog push-ups), and stabilization work from the feet and toes up through the neck. He shares his own L3/L4 disc-bulge recovery story and emphasizes self-assessment of thick vs. thin spine body types. The episode closes with breathing, anti-rotation training, medial glute and psoas work, and a purely cognitive protocol of observing your own movement patterns.
Recommended on this episode
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
Peter Attia
“Dr Peter AA ... wrote The Incredible Book outlive and he talks about how having a strong spine ... is essential to offset the aging process”— Andrew Huberman
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Aerobie Frisbee
Alan Adler (Aerobie)
“a former Stanford engineer who's also an inventor he developed things like the aobi Frisbee ... I'm a big fan of Adler inventions”— Andrew Huberman
Big reveals from this episode
- Huberman reveals he has a recurring L3/L4 lumbar disc bulge that left him bent over and barely able to walk after a triceps bench-dip session in Seattle.
- A PT told him to stop doing crunches and instead do Cobra-style push-ups, which nearly eliminated his pain in two to three days with no meds or surgery.
- Stuart McGill himself cringes when people treat the 'big three' as the be-all and end-all of back health.
- A family member with the same posterior disc bulge got the identical exercise prescription from a Scandinavian physician that Huberman's US PT gave him.
- Huberman stresses he cannot and will not try to diagnose back pain remotely; ruptured discs sometimes genuinely require surgery.
- He claims toe-spreading ability correlates with metrics of aging and even neurocognitive longevity.
Worth remembering
- Spinal cord tissue is central nervous system tissue and does not regenerate after injury, which is why vertebrae and discs protect it.
- Your neural retinas are literally two pieces of brain extruded out of the skull during the first trimester in utero.
- The traditional sit-up is one of the worst things for back pain because crunching pushes a bulging disc further into the nerve.
- McGill links 'thick spine' vs 'thin spine' body types to wrist and joint size, using a willow tree vs oak/redwood analogy.
- Making a fist in one hand recruits bilateral neural pathways that let you contract muscles harder elsewhere in the body.
- Strengthening feet and learning to spread your toes builds distal neural pathways that stabilize the entire chain up to the spine.
- You should brace and fill the torso with air during heavy resistance training, but belly-breathe and relax those muscles at rest.
- Evidence for laser therapy on the back is weak, while walking, yoga, and Pilates have solid evidence for back pain.
- Staggering your stance during curls or overhead triceps extensions trains anti-rotation strength in the obliques.