Tips for Golfers to Prevent Back Pain

Tips for Golfers to Prevent Back Pain

Today I’m going to share some very important information about how to prevent back pain if you’re a golfer, and how to get rid of it if you already have it.

Golf is a very intense sport. If you’re a golfer, you know that. A lot of people think golfing is a leisurely walk through the park. But the amount of force you’re hitting that ball with and the amount of athletic activity it takes to hit the ball straight is actually very intense. Because of that, a lot of golfers have back pain.

One of the things that can be done to prevent back pain relates to your legs, specifically the hamstrings. If the hamstrings are weak, or if they’re tight, that will affect the back.

With the golf swing, you should have your knees bent – this is very basic golf information you probably know – and when you have your knees bent you engage the hamstrings. A lot of times when a golfer is starting to slice the ball, it’s because they’re coming out of their golf stance too early in the swing – they’re straightening their legs too early. When that happens, it usually means that the hamstrings are tired and they need to be conditioned. Or they’re tight and they’re just trying to relax at an earlier point in the swing.

So you want to stretch and strengthen your hamstrings. That can help with a lot of the back pain. It’ll also help your golf swing – help you hit it straighter, and help you hit it further.

Research shows that golfers under chiropractic care actually hit the golf ball 10 to 20 yards further on average. So if you want to hit the golf ball further, come see us. We can help you out. Who wouldn’t like an additional 10 to 20 yards on their golf swing?

Tips for Golfers to Prevent Back Pain or Get Rid of It

The other important thing to consider if you have back pain and you want to keep playing would be some sort of support for your back during the swing. Your back should be straight – you don’t want to be slouching or have excess curvature in the back during the golf swing. If that’s happening, you could be injuring your back further. We have a support a lot of our patients wear while they’re golfing. It still allows for good motion in the back, it doesn’t limit their swing too much, and it prevents them from hurting themselves even worse while we’re correcting their actual problem.

You don’t want to end up like our friend Tiger Woods who has had four back surgeries – started out with one and, as with most back surgeries, after the first one he needed another and another and another. It rarely stops with one surgery as a quick fix for a problem.

Because of that, he’s still playing in pain and he’s only in his mid forties, and it’s probably not going to get any better. I can almost guarantee he’s going to have more back surgeries in the future if he continues to play golf because of how he’s treated his back.

If you found this useful, or if you have back pain and you’re a golfer, comment below. We’ll answer any of your questions.  And share this with someone with back pain who likes to golf.

We’d love to hear from you. Thanks.