Is your golf swing causing you back pain?
Common Causes of Golf Back Pain The golf swing can be dangerous if you’re not properly trained. Poor swing mechanics combined with rotational forces can cause significant damage to your spine. There’s a real, inherent risk to the lumbar spine (lower back) and thoracic spine (upper back).
How can I avoid back pain when playing golf?
Another thing to help you experience less back pain, is to take regular breaks. When you’re on your way around the course, try to stretch your legs and avoid carrying your clubs unnecessarily.
Is sitting all day bad for your golf swing?
Sitting all day is detrimental to our bodies for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that your muscles tend to shorten, especially around your lower back and hips. This tightness can contribute to swing flaws like S-Posture and early extension. This phenomenon is known as Lower Cross Syndrome (LCS).
Is golf bad for your spine?
From the eyes of the spectator, golf may seem as if it's a low-impact sport, but it can be one of the most demanding sports on the spine, causing several painful conditions that sometimes require medical attention. The unnatural movement of the golf swing can cause pain.
Is golfing hard on your back?
The golf swing is the most unnatural of activities. There are no work activities that mimic its effects on the spine. While many believe that golf is a low physical demand activity, the forces experienced by the spine include the twisting, the compression of the disc, and the side bending, is significant.
Can you hurt your back playing golf?
Low, middle, and upper back pain are common symptoms of golf-related injuries. Golf is a game of muscle memory, and its repetitive motions can lead to inflammation, strains, and other injuries of the muscles and discs of the spine, throwing you off your game.
How do I protect my back when playing golf?
Tips for Protecting Your Back on the Golf CourseRaise your front heel during the backswing. ... Form an "I" between your hips and shoulders. ... Shorten the backswing to decrease the rotational and side bending movements on the lower back.Stand closer to the golf ball.More items...
How do I stop my back hurting after golf?
To protect your back, maintain a bent right knee and turn your left shoulder downwards on the backswing; squat your lower body slightly during the downswing; shift the vast majority of your weight to your left leg with your shoulder and hips level and turned open upon impact; and thrust your pelvis toward the target ...
Why does my back always hurt after golf?
Golf is a natural cause for pain By its very nature, the rotational forces of the golf swing create inherent risk to the lumbar spine (lower back). This has been compounded by recent trends in golf instruction that encourage a restriction of hip turn in the backswing in an effort to “coil” for more power.
Is golf bad for your body?
Although golf is a low-impact sport, it's associated with several injuries. Many golfing-related injuries are a result of poor mechanics or overuse. The most commonly injured area is the lower back. Other injured areas can include the elbow, wrist and hand, and shoulder.
What muscles should be sore after golf?
While the most common area you're likely to feel some tightness is in your hamstrings, soreness can occur anywhere (calves, quads, groin).
Why is golf so popular?
The increased popularity of golf may be due to demographics, with baby boomers having more time and disposable income, and may be due to the fact that technology is producing golf equipment that makes the game easier. Whatever the reason, golf is certainly enjoying ...
Can golf cause back pain?
However, like any other sport, golf can produce injuries to the low back and spine. One very common golf injury is low back pain (usually due to muscle strains and sprains). Additionally, people who suffer from chronic or recurrent episodes of low back pain can be frustrated because the pain hinders their ability to play golf.
How to help back pain when golfing?
Prevention is the best prescription when it comes to confronting back pain. When you are not golfing, you can implement a few simple exercises to strengthen your abdominal and gluteal muscles. Crunches, planks, and hip thrusts can help strengthen your entire core area, increase flexibility and assist with rotation in your swing. Rowing exercises (pulling rubber tubing attached to a shoulder height object toward your chest) and pull down exercises (kneeling and holding rubber tubing that is attached to a should er height object over your head, then pulling down toward your chest with bent elbows) are recommended.
How long does it take for back pain to go away after golf swing?
Most back pain from a golf swing will get better within a couple of days or a couple of weeks. Muscle strains are the most common injury and will respond to rest, ice, and minor rehab. Over-the-counter pain remedies and NSAID medications can help with the worst of the pain.
How to rotate your hips?
To get the hips and thoracic spine involved in the rotation, take a golf club and hold at both ends with your feet shoulder width apart. Rotate the club to each side. Allow your hips to rotate with this motion and shift your weight to the opposite toe. Complete 20 repetitions.
How to reduce injury from sports?
You can reduce your potential for injury from any sport with a few simple warmups. Cold muscles are more rigid and prone to injury, so try a few opening moves and stretches before you tee off.
How to balance a sprite?
Standing on one leg, swing the opposite leg forward and backward while keeping your knee straight. You can use a driver for balance. Swing the leg from side to side 15 times in each direction and then switch your legs and repeat.
How does golf affect your back?
How Golf Causes Low Back Pain 1 The full golf swing (backswing and follow-through) rotates the spine with a great deal of force and little control, leaving the structures in the lower back particularly open to injury 2 Spinal muscles, especially the lumbar spine muscles, strain to help provide force during the golf swing 3 Disc and facet joint loading increases also helping to provide force during the golf swing 4 Bending over to pick up the golf bag or even the golf ball or club may strain muscles as well as carrying the golf bag
Why is golf good for your back?
The exercise encourages blood flow , which in turn helps maintain a healthy back. However, due to the repeated twisting and force inherent in the golf swing, the sport also leaves the lower back susceptible to injury.
How to play golf properly?
Learn proper form and posture for playing golf, including a smooth, rhythmic swing in good balance. Choose a golf bag with a built in stand to avoid having to lift it, and dual straps to avoid carrying an uneven load .
What muscles are involved in golf swing?
The full golf swing (backswing and follow-through) rotates the spine with a great deal of force and little control, leaving the structures in the lower back particularly open to injury. Spinal muscles , especially the lumbar spine muscles, strain to help provide force during the golf swing.
How to prevent back pain from golf?
A golf-specific fitness plan that includes core strength training and flexibility training can help prevent back pain. Core strength exercises build the muscles from the shoulder girdle to thigh, including the abdominals, back, and buttocks. When these muscles are strong, they brace and protect the spine, decreasing risk of injury.
Why does my golf swing hurt?
Swinging the golf club requires the spine to twist, the hips to pull, and the arms to gain speed in a downward motion. These movements put stress on the muscles around the spine, causing them to tighten. The tightened muscles pull on bones and other muscles around them, creating pain.
How to stop back pain after a round?
Stretching the muscles will also help prevent back pain. The hamstrings, in particular, tend to tighten up during and after a round. When they do this, they pull on the hips and spine, creating more pain. Hamstring stretches will alleviate some of this problem.
What happens when you put extra weight on your back?
This extra weight placed on the back and the shoulder strains the muscles , particularly in the lower back. The lower back holds a majority of the body’s weight, also absorbing the weight of the back. The muscles become stressed and fatigued and pull on the joints and bones of the spine.
How to help a golfer with back pain?
At-home treatments such as icing the lower back to decrease inflammation, tissue massages for muscle stimulation and whirlpool use can will help acute back pain.
Can golf cause back pain?
The demands of the golf swing can cause low back pain often referred to as "Golfer's Back.". Back pain caused by golf is not uncommon. From the eyes of the spectator, golf may seem as if it's a low-impact sport, but it can be one of the most demanding sports on the spine, causing several painful conditions that sometimes require medical attention.
Common Back Injuries Associated with Golf
While generally low back pain tops the list of back ailments that result from golf, Dr. Sekhon explains that golf-related back injuries typically fall into four categories. These include:
Shearing Force and Back Injuries
So, why are back injuries so prevalent in the golf world? Are they primarily caused by twisting forces in golf swings?
Dealing With and Preventing Back Injuries in Golf
When it comes to achieving a reduced-pain or even pain-free golf game, you can turn to some nonsurgical treatment methods and preventive measures, which Dr. Sekhon lists:
Golf Swing Modifications
A high-quality golf swing for a bad back is possible with modifications, along with other tweaks you can make.
Keep Teeing Off
Your regular golf games don’t need to come to a screeching halt from your back pain. With some tweaks and caring for your body, you could be playing golf for years to come.
What to do if your back hurts?
That way you can get answers as to what the problem is, some stretches or exercises that can make you stronger and remedy the situation, or provide some treatment to help the pressure off your back.
Is it normal to lose form on the first hole?
Fatigue happens in a lot of sports , after you’ve been going for awhile it’s normal to lose a bit of that good form you had on the first hole, but it’s important to keep reminding yourself to correct your form at the start of each swing.
Is rotation a problem?
Rotation on its own would not be particularly problematic, but the issue stems from it being combined with bending forwards. The degree of variation in the rotation comes from the different movements involved in more subtle movements like putting, to the more of a fast swing of a drive.
Is a swing better for your lower back?
Functionally, it’s a much better position for your lower back, and you’re going to get a nice, smooth swing. Structurally, this will protect your discs in the lower back and you’ll be only flexing from the hips rather than the lower back – this will mean the only stressor on your back becomes your rotation.
Can compression cause a disc to bulge?
Too much compression on your discs can result in eventually bulging or herniating a disc, which will cause much more constant pain and potentially affect your everyday life on a much bigger scale than the odd ache or pain here and there.
Can back pain be prevented by playing golf?
If you can make these amendments in your routine when playing golf, you should find that your back pain doesn’t ever get out of sorts, or too far along, that you can’t actually play.
Does bending forwards cause discs to be stressed?
Rotation in combination with the bending forwards can put even further stress on your discs. The variety in the movement can be a triggering factor on its own, since you might be putting extra force behind those two movements, it increases the compressive load as the muscles really tighten up to support the golf swing.
