Golf Back Pain

The main cause of Golf Back Pain is the swing. The golf swing has four components: the address position, back swing, down swing and follow through.

Golf Back Pain problems can occur during any of these phases, but the common errors tend to be:

Too much forward bending at address
Too little rotation of the hips and spine
Insufficient abdominal and back strength to support and control the swing action.

Picture shows Golfer at address with a good spine.

As many as 1 in 2 elite professional golfers have suffered from serious back pain at some stage of their career and 1 in 5 amateur golfers will suffer from back pain each year.

Top Tips to prevent back pain

• Learn to maintain correct spinal posture (neutral spine) when addressing the ball.
• Stretch hamsting muscles if tight to allow good address position
• Develop adequate hip and spinal rotation flexibility
• Strengthen abdominal muscles protect spine against excessive rotation force during the swing
• Seek out the assistance of a professional golf coach to teach you the basics of an ideal swing.

Most of us at some time in our lives will suffer from low back pain. Many diagnoses are given for low back pain and range from slipped/prolapsed discs, degenerative arthritis, spondylosis, muscle strain, sacroiliac dysfunction and – one of the most common – sciatica. Assessment and treatment of spinal posture and muscle and strength imbalances will be carried out.

Golf Back Pain can be caused by Sciatica – a set of symptoms resulting from compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve. Symptoms can include pain in the lower back, buttocks and sometimes the leg and foot, pins and needles or numbness in the leg. There are many different causes and potential areas of the origin of pain.

« Back to all articles