I’m probably not plowing new ground when I tell you that low back pain is about as common as a lost ball on the golf course. Whether you’re an amateur with vague lower back tightness after an hour on the putting green or a senior player who needs an Icy Hot Back Patch to get through 9 holes, practically every golfer has experienced low back pain at some point. Heck, I’ve even seen pro shops where next to the bin of tees, pencils, and scorecards is a big bottle of ibuprofen for the players to grab on their way out to the first tee!
The fact is, the golf swing is just not good for your back. Yep, I said it! There is nothing about torquing your lower and mid-back at full speed in a bent forward posture that is good for your back. The problem is that it is so darned much fun that we are unlikely to stop until pain puts on the brakes. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s why:
Your lower back is made up of many, many joints. In fact, each vertebra in the lumbar spine is involved in at least 5 different joints! When all these joints are moving the way they are supposed to, the load of the golf swing is distributed rather equally among them. The problem arises when the joints stop moving the way they were intended to move. Think of the hinge on a door. If one hinge stops working, the door will still open and close but the remaining hinges will wear out prematurely and eventually, the door just stops opening. If you lube all the hinges periodically, your door will open and close forever. The same is true for your back. If we mobilize the joints in your back on a periodic basis, they are more able to take up the stress of the game and you will stay feeling better, longer.
So what can YOU do about this issue? You have a few options. You can gobble up 2 Advil each time you play or you can see your chiropractor. Any chiropractor can help you with your low back pain. The ideal solution is to visit a chiropractor who is trained to examine your golf posture and swing and eliminate your low back pain. In my office, I try to not only address the player’s pain but also address the part of the game that is causing that pain – so the pain does not come back.
Are you ready to lube up those hinges? If so, make an appointment with me. I can’t guarantee you’ll shoot par, but I can promise to do my best to get you feeling better!
-Dr. Craig
Have you ever had a golf lesson and had the pro tell you: “You are coming over the top” or “You are casting the club head”? After a fair amount of lessons, you may even know what you are doing wrong but no matter how you try, you cannot fix the problem. It may be the case that you have a physical limitation that will not allow your body to function in the desired way. If this is the case, addressing the limitation could be the key to your success.
One of the great things the folks at the Titleist Performance Institute have done in the past couple of years is to draw correlations between functional limitations and common faults in the golf swing. By this I mean they have had the privilege to screen and observe a couple hundred professional golfers and the less privileged task of screening thousands of amateur players. When all the data is crunched, TPI is able to correlate certain functional inabilities with certain swing characteristics. While the correlations do not apply 100% of the time, they are certainly worth looking at.
For example, the overhead deep squat is a functional movement that involves holding a broomstick overhead with extended arms and squatting down completely such that the hips drop below the knees and the feet remain flat on the floor. For many, this is easier said than done. A common fault is inability to squat to full depth – the hips never get below the knees. We call that a functional limitation – the player cannot complete a full deep squat.
After examining thousands of golfers, the folks at TPI have discovered that a large majority of players who cannot perform a full squat have a swing fault called “early extension” in which the hip extends prematurely in the swing and the belt buckle is thrust toward the ball. “Who cares?” you may be asking. Here is why this is important: Approximately 70% of amateur golfers have early extension in their golf swing. Approximately 0% of professionals early extend. Do you see now why this may be important?
Here is the good part: Through evaluation and an exercise program, your deep squat capabilities can be increased. After this physical limitation is eliminated a player’s early extension will become a tendancy rather than a necessity – and a visit to your club’s teaching pro should be all you need to eliminate early extension from your swing.
This is but one example but I hope you see my point – functional limitation can be correlated to your golf swing faults. Through careful evaluation, a program to address and eliminate the limitation can be derived and the limitation may be overcome. Bottom line – you can play better and feel better!
]]>I am probably not alone in saying that I am often amazed by what I see and hear on the local golf courses. Sometimes my eavesdropping makes me laugh, sometimes cringe, sometimes say “what the…”. How many of you have seen this scenario:
Guy (or gal) steps up on the tee and pries the head cover off a brand new $300 driver (why are headcovers so tight now-a-days anyway?). He tees up a brand new Pro V1 and makes two practice swings. His playing partners are quiet and he makes his swing. His ball is off target and he grimaces in pain – maybe even grabbing at his lower back with his free hand. He shakes his head as he walks back to his bag saying “This new driver isn’t helping me out very well.”
How many of you have heard some version of this in the past year? Be honest! Maybe the ball goes straight on the first 4 holes and then sprays for the rest of the round. Maybe every shot is blocked right – regardless of the number of lessons taken. Either way, a golfer has invested a lot of money into new equipment and it just hasn’t gotten the job done.
I wonder why we don’t make the same investment into our body as we do our equipment. Often, a commitment of just minutes per day could lower your score much further than Taylormade’s newest tour driver. Golfer’s however are a strange breed. Dropping $120 on greens fees, $40 on a dozen balls, $300 (or more) on a new driver, or $250 on a Scotty’s latest putter doesn’t even cause many golfers to think twice. Spending a fraction of that getting your body evaluated and in proper golf condition is often never even thought of.
I know, I know – golf is supposed to be fun! Who wants to exercise or see the chiropractor about golf? That takes all the fun out of it… I would argue, however, that if you make a small commitment to your body, your game will become much more fun. Heck, that driver may even start to work better;)
-Dr. Craig
]]>How many of you have plugged “golf swing exercises” into Google and hit the search button? There is no shortage of information available on the subject – that’s for sure! How many of you have actually tried the exercises? I don’t mean stretches as you warm up and I don’t mean swing drills. I mean actual exercises – where you might break a sweat. For the small percentage of readers who are still answering in the affirmative here is the final question: did exercising make you better or worse? The problem with generic golf exercises is that if you don’t know your physical limitations, you don’t know what to spend your time working on. After all, golf time is getting harder and harder to come by!
Here’s and example: Your golf buddy is having a terrible time with his shoulder turn. He just can’t seem to get good separation between his upper torso and his hips at the top of his back swing. Beginning to get frustrated, he searches the internet for exercises to remedy his situation. Finding a plethora of articles on the importance of core stability, he marches confidently off to the gym for a 30 minute abdominal workout including planks and physioball exercises (sound familiar?). Four to six weeks later, he is back on the course (with rock-hard abs mind you) and even less rotation in his back swing. Now, don’t get me wrong, a strong core is very important in a golf swing. However, there are much more effective exercises to increase rotation in the back swing.
To make matters even more complicated, often a physical limitation that you notice is the result of one you don’t. Perhaps our golfer above has a postural fault that will simply not allow his back to rotate properly. If the postural issue is not addressed, the rotation will not improve – regardless of the exercise performed.
So, what is a guy or gal to do? First, understand that in all but the most extreme cases, exercise of any kind will likely be beneficial to your health and well being. Compound exercises (those that involve moving many joints at a time – such as the overhead squat) will be best and will have a low risk of overdevelopment of a particular muscle group.
If your goal is to improve your golf game you will have the best success talking with a professional. Golf professionals may have some insight but this is a bit beyond their expertise. TPI certified fitness professionals will be able to identify your specific issues and prescribe exercises to target those areas. A TPI screen may be the most efficient and effective way to improve your game!
It means that you must move nearly every joint in your lower body, torso, and upper body (ankle, knee, hip, low back, mid back, neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist) but keep your head as still as possible – and keep your eye on the dang ball no less! Now, each of these joints is important in the golf swing but the most important area in keeping your head still during the swing is your neck.
Turn your head to the left as far as you can. Go ahead, do it right now. See how your chin gets closer to your left shoulder? That’s the motion your neck takes during the backswing. It is true that your head stays still (ideally…) but look at all the motion in your neck joints! Taking care of those joints is extremely important if you plan to play golf as a “lifetime sport”.
Decreases in neck range of motion happen for a variety of different reasons – many of which can be evaluated and treated by a chiropractor. We’ll do a thourough examination of the tissues making up your neck – especially the joints. Using manual procedures, we can “unstick” neck joints that aren’t moving correctly. You’ll feel a difference immediately!
So, if your round of golf has become a literal pain in the neck, give me a call. We’ll loosen up the joints an muscles in your neck and upper back and you’ll be swinging better in no time.
See you on the course!
Dr. Craig
I was on the phone with a local high-level golf professional the other day and he said something to me that really made me think. He said: “I played the best golf of my life while I was seeing a chiropractor.” Here’s why:
Structurally, the body demands mobility in the golf swing. The joints in the spine can be thought of as hinges on a door. If one hinge is not doing its job, the other hinges have to work harder to “pick up the slack”. Over time, the other hinges will wear out prematurely – all because the bad hinge was not fixed! Your spine is similar. If your mid back is not moving as it should, your low back and neck will have to work harder to “pick up the slack”. At first, this might mean some errant shots. After awhile though, it will inevitably lead to pain and often premature degeneration (arthritis) of the spine in the overworked areas. Just like with the hinges, if we fix the mid back before it becomes a big problem, we can avoid this type of damage to the spine.
Functionally, golfers demand the utmost precision and “feel” during their game. As chiropractors, we directly impact the nervous system with adjustments of the spinal joints. It is not uncommon for patients to report that after an adjustment their sinuses have drained, ears have popped, and their vision seems much sharper – they are more acutely aware of their surroundings. The nervous system is in control of all the body’s functions and movements. Keeping it in top shape through adjustments should be high on every golfer’s priority list!
The chiropractor is the first place you should go with nagging pain in the golf swing motion . He/she is the preeminent expert in decreasing joint pain. Hopefully, after reading the paragraphs above, you’ll realize that the positive benefits of chiropractic care for a golfer extend way beyond pain relief. If the golfing professional uses a chiropractor to play his best, why don’t you?
See you on the course!
Dr. Craig
Click here for more information about chiropractic care for golfers, for additional information about golf fitness, visit Titleist’s Performance Institute (started and run by a chiropractor!). Be sure to keep an eye on the Tuck Clinic blog page for more chiropractic/golf articles to come!
]]>The foot needs to be stable on the ground – the reason for wearing proper golf shoes.
The ankle needs to be mobile to allow the lower leg to move and rotate during the swing.
The knee must have stability to transfer forces between the ground and the hips.
The hip must be mobile to allow proper pelvic rotation during the swing.
The lower back must be stable to maintain posture.
The mid back must be mobile to allow for proper spinal rotation.
The shoulder blade must be held stable to allow for proper shoulder joint motion.
The shoulder must be mobile to allow for proper swinging of the club.
The elbow must be stable enough to transfer power down the arm to the club.
The wrist must be mobile enough to have proper hinge during the swing.
Lastly, the neck must be stable in its movement – allowing the body to turn and the head to remain still.
Are you seeing a pattern? stability–>mobility–>stability–>mobility–>etc.
You might be asking: “Who cares?!?” The answer is that you should care.
For simplicity’s sake let’s look at the lower body for this discussion. The ankle must be mobile to allow proper movement of the lower leg during the swing. If the ankle lacks the necessary mobility, the knee will be improperly loaded and will be unable to provide the stability needed by the hip during pelvic rotation.
I know this gets awfully complicated but here’s the bottom line: If your mobile joints aren’t mobile, your stable joints can’t be stable and your golf swing will suffer. Further, if your stable joints aren’t stable, your mobile joints can’t be mobile and your swing will suffer. What’s more, these faulty movement patterns are the most common cause of both sudden and repetitive use injuries in golf.
What can you do? Functional examination such as that offered by the Golf Doctor can identify any faulty movement patterns. Mobility is increased through chiropractic care (increasing joint mobility) and stretching (increasing muscular mobility). Stability is increased via exercises. The key is knowing what joints to exercise and what joints to stretch – and that is where a trip to the Golf Doctor can make all the difference. If all this is making sense to you, click here to schedule and appointment.
So, do yourself a favor this month. Buy NXT Tour balls rather than ProV1’s and use the extra money to get checked out in my office. I’ll bet you it will benefit your game more than a urethane cover on your golf ball! See you on the course! Dr. Craig