80% of professional golfers have re-occurring back pain. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. When you add up the swings you take during your round including your shots and all of your practice swings, it ends of being a lot of one directional repetition. The golfers that I see tend to be really limber in one direction and very stiff in the other. Here are some tips for golf stretches and back pain.
There are a few simple steps you can take to avoid creating back problems while doing the sport you love.
Tip 1-Warm your body up BEFORE you golf. This does NOT mean stretch. A lot of us rush to the course after work, hop out of our car hoping not to be late and run up to the first tee to take our swings. Next time you golf, try this. Start with spinal twists-spread your feet shoulder with apart, interlace your fingers, point your hips forward and rotate your shoulders INDEPENDENTLY of your hips. KEEP YOUR HIPS STILL AND FACING FORWARD This will help loosen up your spine.
Second–Try some walking lunges. This will help loosen up your hips and start firing your muscles.
Lastly, try some standing crunches to activate your abs. While your standing, grip your finger tips LOOSELY behind your head. Crunch your opposite elbow to your opposite hip. Do about 15 of these on each side. Now you are ready to golf!
On the Course-While you are out on the course, take a practice swing in the opposite direction before each hole. This will counter the effects of always swinging the same way. The pros on the tour have been doing this for a long time. It will help keep you limber in BOTH directions. If you are having back pain from golf, this is another good article: https://www.activefamilychiropractic.com/post/back-pain-from-golf
After your Round-BEFORE you tip back a cold one, stretch yourself out after you golf before your body has a chance to cool down. Try a gentle forward fold while dropping your head down to stretch your back and hamstrings. Make sure you stretch your hip flexors out doing a lunge as well and holding it. Any seated spinal rotation stretch you can do would help too. Most people don’t hold their stretches long enough. Stay in your stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds.
If you have any questions on how to customize a stretching plan for yourself or help you with a nagging ache or pain, call me. I’m happy to help! You can also schedule online at https://www.activefamilychiropractic.com/booking-calendar