I recently ran into an old patient who was complaining about her lower back pain and how it always gets flared up when she goes golfing. I thought I would share a bit with you about our conversation. First of all, golf can be a very compressive sport if done incorrectly. The most common error that we see when it comes to lower back problems deals with a flattening of the lower back from its’ natural position. Let’s start with how you address the ball.
When you move forward to line up your club with the ball, how are you bringing your body forward. Well, let me help you! You can only move forward by either bending your hips OR bending your back. Most of the elite golfers in the world will stick their rears out slightly to make sure that they maintain their natural curve. So next time you go to hit balls, make sure you are sticking your rear out just slightly and bringing your belly towards the ball. This will insure that you are not flexing your lower back and setting your self up for major problems down the line. Just so you know, if you are flexed and then introduce a rotational swing, you are compressing your lower back as much as you possibly can! OUCH!
If you need some fine tuning on your swing and you have lower back problems, don’t hesitate to give us a call and we can take a look!
