Resolving Back Pain with Golfing
If you are a golfer, at some point you have probably dealt with back pain. It is one of the most common injuries for golfers and can be quite limiting.
For most golfers who deal with back pain it either progressively gets worse, or it comes and goes throughout the year. Both of these are not ideal and it doesn’t have to be that way. The key to resolving back pain from golfing is to get to the root cause.
Because golfing is a dynamic movement there are many things that could be the root cause of back pain for each person. Working with a physical therapist who specializes in golf injuries is important.
Managing the Pain
We are big fans of using exercise to rehab injuries. Sometimes hands on work like massage, dry needling, or cupping are needed to calm things down and speed up the process. All these options work great for lower back pain and we use them everyday at our clinic in the Lake Country area of Wisconsin.
Main Causes of Back Pain with Golfing
The front hip and the ribcage are the most common causes we see. If these two areas don’t move well the lower back often takes a beating.
Hip Mobility and Strength
Restriction in the front hip will prevent a full turn and will lead to increased stress on the back.
This is an exercise I like to work on both mobility and strength of the front hip. It will allow for a better turn and weight transfer.
Ribcage Mobility
Stiffness through the ribcage is often something that we find is leading to back pain in our clients.
This is an exercise that helps to loosen up the ribcage.
Warm Up
One of the biggest issues we see is how players warm up, or don’t. Most golfers sit for most of the day and then hop out of the car to hit balls without warming up. Doing any sort of warm up to get some blood flowing and get ready to swing a club will go a long way and help you feel better. Take 5 minutes to get warm before you start hitting a bucket or tee off on the first hole.
Next Steps to Resolve Back Pain From Golfing
If you are dealing with back pain and frustrated with your results we would love to help. We specialize in helping golfers in Lake Country feel their best! Reach out to set up a free consultation to see how we can help with your golf game.
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