Why Golfers Frequently Have Lower Back Pain

Golf is supposed to be a life long sport; these days golf is more popular than ever and as many kids are playing as retired people.  So what is the one major condition that gets in the way of life long golf; it is back pain.  Out of all of the injuries that keep golfers off the course, back pain accounts for 50 percent of them.  The reasons golfers develop back pain is for two main reasons, poor swing mechanics and limited physical ability to swing the club.

To explain the second reason we need to look at how the body relates to the golf swing.  You can take lessons from a golf professional all day but if your body is not able to physically perform what he/she wants you to do, you will not get good results.  The golf professional is a key component to playing better golf; but also as important is your body’s ability to swing the club.  A few facts that are important: the low back is only able to rotate 13 degrees; on the other hand your mid back is able to rotate 30 degrees.  A major contributor to low back pain is not enough mid back rotation which causes too much low back rotation.  Too much low back movement eventually equals pain.

Two ways to take the burden off the low back is to increase mobility in the mid back and the hips.  The ideal roll of the low back is stabilization; whereas the mid back and the hips are for mobilization.  Like I tell all of my patients you can only overuse your low back for so long and then it will let you know about it.

So if you are reading this and asking “so what can I do to help get rid of my back pain”; there are many exercises and stretches that can help stabilize your low back and help mobilize your mid back and hips.  Always consult a fitness professional/medical professional that can help evaluate you and determine which exercises and stretches you specifically need.

Pinnacle Health & Wellness's Dr Tyler Hamel is a Chiropractor and Certified Level 3 Medical Titleist Fitness Professional.  He evaluates golfer’s physical abilities and how that relates to their golf swing.  His belief is fix the body, improve your power, improve your accuracy, and most of all improve your score.