Brian Ellicott - Brisbane Back Pain Program

Brian Ellicott - Brisbane Back Pain Program Specialist lower back injury rehabilitation and corrective exercise. Specialist in lower back back pain, health and performance.

02/03/2026

Disc Bulges Can Heal!

We just need to bring the mechanical stress that produced them back down below a tolerable level to let the collagen fibres in the disc heal.

Think constantly picking a scab versus leveling it alone and letting it heal.

We can also use positions such as the disc recovery position to help reverse the hydraulic pressure in the disc and speed up the healing process.

All thanks to research of Prof. Stuart McGill , we have a simple way to understand the nature of disc bulges and an effective way to help them heal without surgery.

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Need Help?

Online and In-person Coaching Available at:

www.BrianEllicott.com

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24/02/2026

What's better for the spine? An RDL or a Sumo Deadlift?

As ever...it depends on the person, their injury and their goals.

But...for most people I would say the RDL is more beneficial and safer.

Safer because you start from a stronger position at the top.

More beneficial because we tend to higher rep with RDLs...so you'll get more benefit to strength endurance in the thoracic erectors.

PLUS...RDLs are a superb way to build hamstring mobility and strength.

But don't forget...you can always do both!

24/02/2026

Sitting all day for your job? A simple exercise to help keep the glutes strong and the back safe.

Seated Glute Squeezes 1 set of 25-50 SMOOTH reps for every hour you sit.

A great tool I learnt from many years ago.

Just be sure to keep those reps SMOOTH! You'll get a better result!

24/02/2026

Side-Bridges and Back Pain...

The most common weakness I see in back rehab clients is that of lateral stability or side-to-side stability (frontal plane for the anatomy geeks)

Why is it such a big issue?

If you have weak lateral stability I can pretty much guarantee you will hip dysfunction below as the body tries to use the muscles around the hips as emergency guy wires to solve this weakness.

Side-bridges (part of 's McGill Big 3 for Spinal Stability) are a great place to start to rebuild this skill.

Kelvin is performing Level 2 Side-Bridges (with the legs straight), so you may have to start with level 1 (knees bent) or even leany against a wall if your lateral stability is very weak.

3 sets of 10 seconds holds, with 1-8 reps per set, per side.

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Need Help? Visit:

www.BrianEllicott.com

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24/02/2026

First question from .andrei

How do safely get into position in a dumbbell bench press with a back issue.

BRACE, BRACE, BRACE!

And also...keep the weights close to your center of gravity.

On the way back up, lower the weights towards your hips and use your legs to give you some momentum to sit up.

BUT...if you are having major problems, the weight is only magnifying what is there...so you may have some core strength issues to address first.

23/02/2026

Back Pain Questions Time!

Have a question about back pain, injuries or rehab?

Comment below or DM me.

Best ones will get a video answer before the end of week.

20/02/2026

Crossing the bridge between lower level rehab exercises and the bigger, more useful movements is a key challenge in the process of spinal rehab.

We need to return to building those bigger skills, but if we fumble the process we can up back at square one with a back ready to impode again.

Sit Down Squats are a great tool I learnt from that help bridge that gap.

The goal is to rebuild confidence in the hips by build a very hip dominant squat pattern that we can use to segwey back into regular squats and hip-hinge based movements such as kettlebell swings, RDLs and deadlifts.

4 sets of squatting to a flat surface about knee height, for around 6-12 reps.

Goal to be smooth, keep your balance and use that brace!

As ever...simple and effective.

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Need Help?

www.BrianEllicott.com

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19/02/2026

Offset Squats....a great tool/principle to help with the transition from low level rehab, back into regular training and sport.

Load a kettlebell onto one side with a two-on-one grip.

Alternate loading sides each round.

4 sets of 6-8 reps.

Will challenge lateral stability and help you develop a stable squat pattern at the same time.

Same principal can then be applied by loading uneven weight on bigger exes such as Zercher Squats.

Simple. Effective.

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11/7 Oconnell Terrace
Brisbane, QLD
4006

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Tuesday 7am - 6pm
Wednesday 7am - 6pm
Thursday 7am - 6pm
Friday 7am - 6pm

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