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. We asked Dan Miriovsky, PT, DPT, OCS, ACT, to give us the scoop on why back pain is so common in those who love the game, and what you can do to prevent and treat it.
Is Your Pain a Swing Problem or a Body Problem?
Back pain in golfers can typically be attributed to trouble with your swing, or trouble with the way your body moves, according to Dan. He refers to these causes as “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,” Dan explains.
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 Dan’s recommendations for keeping your back — and full-body — in top golf shape.
Get a Team
Dan recommends assembling a team to help coach and train you in proper movement and technique. “That team should include a golf fitness professional and a swing coach. Have that team work with you to create proper warm-ups and cool-downs, or pre- and post-round movement strategies, for both on and off the range,” Dan says.
It may sound like a luxury, but seeking out and receiving the proper instruction and correction will help you enjoy the game to your full potential for as many years as possible. Just one or two sessions can go a long way.
A physical therapist can also be a key member of your team, and will rely on the advice and learnings of your swing pro to help address your pain. “The first question I ask is, ‘Are you working with a swing coach?’ and if the answer is yes, that allows me to get additional information.” If a swing pro is trying to train you to correct a swing fault, but you have an underlying body fault inhibiting your mobility or strength, a PT can play a valuable role in setting your body up for a successful swing.
Train Off the Range
“Golf is not always painted this way, but it’s kind of an endurance sport,” Dan says. “Not from an intensity standpoint, but from a duration standpoint. Most rounds are between three-and-a-half and five hours long. You’re walking and carrying 30 pounds for seven to eight miles. You need to train for that.”
With that in mind, make sure you’re doing proper strengthening and endurance exercise, focusing on range of motion, stability and power. Creating an individualized plan focused on your body’s own strengths, weaknesses and movement patterns is important, and this is something your golf pro team and physical therapist can help with.
“In the golf swing, there isn’t a muscle that isn’t being used, right?” Dan says. “Your feet are contacting the ground, so you have to use your foot muscles. You have to use your ankle stabilizing muscles, your calves, quads and hamstrings, your glutes, your core, your pelvic floor, your diaphragm, all the muscles through your shoulder blade and scapula, your hands. They all work together but in different ways,” such as controlling rotation or facilitating the explosion into that rotation.
Have the Right Equipment
In golf, there’s no such thing as “one size fits all.” Making sure your equipment fits you is key in protecting against back pain. “I’m not saying you have to go out and spend hundreds of dollars to get fitted, but make sure you have grips that fit your hand size and shaft lengths that fit your preferred body stance, as well as that you have the proper weighting of your shaft, and material, whether it’s steel or graphite or composite,” Dan says.
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, Dan begins by asking all kinds of questions about their game, including those that will help him learn whether or not pain is affecting them in other areas, not just on the range. He’ll assess where breakdowns are occurring in the body and help them develop greater flexibility, mobility and stability using a variety of therapies and functional training that are person-specific, all aimed at helping them achieve their desired goals.
Interested in learning to move better, or prevent or overcome back pain, all in the name of perfecting your golf game? Reach out to a Spooner FIT Trainer to find out how our physical therapists can help.