Back pain is a pretty common complaint for golfers. If you golf but haven’t experienced back trouble personally, you probably know a fellow golfer who has.
After all, when you swing a golf club, it’s an explosive movement that forces your spine to rotate at a tilt. Then you repeat that motion again and again, hole after hole, round after round.
The good news? There are things you can do to both avoid and address back pain as a golfer.
Back pain in golfers can typically be attributed to trouble with your swing, or trouble with the way your body moves. These could be caused by swing faults or body faults.
Common swing faults would be either a sway away from the desired target, a slide of the hips down the target line, or something called early extension, where the belt buckle moves toward the golf ball, instead of turning and rotating down the target line.
Examples of body faults might be when the thoracic spine (which runs from the base of the neck to the abdomen) doesn’t rotate properly, or a lack of hip mobility, or improper hip rotation.
The most common location of the pain is in the lumbar spine, what most of us call the lower back.
Here are some recommendations for keeping your back, and full body, in top golf shape.
First, get a team. This could include fitness coaching, swing coaching, or possibly seeing a doctor of physical therapy, as these professionals are trained extensively to be human movement experts.
Second, train off the range. This can include any aerobic conditioning and strengthening activities. The average game of golf can last between three to five hours and involve walking up to eight miles (less with carts!).
Third, have the correct equipment. Make sure your equipment fits your body, as there is no such thing as one size fits all.
How Physical Therapy Can Prevent Back Pain in Golfers
Think of your physical therapist as another movement specialist on your team. When working with new patients, the physical therapist will assess where breakdowns are occurring in the body and help develop greater flexibility, mobility and stability, using a variety of therapies. Also, functional training, that are person-specific, should be included, all aimed at helping achieve desired goals.
Spooner Physical Therapy, in North Mesa, is located at 6824 E. Brown Road. To learn more, call (480) 924-5514, or visit www.spoonerpt.com/locations/north-mesa.