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Fit for Play
Playing Through Back Pain
Tips for limiting back problems so you can enjoy your time on the course by DAVE POND
We all know that golf is a great way to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors , but your enjoyment of the sport can be limited if you regularly deal with back pain . After all , the repetitive motions of the golf swing can put a lot of stress on your back — especially if you have weak core muscles or poor posture .
Leah Narkevic , assistant strength coach for the University of Virginia men ’ s and women ’ s golf teams , said there are generally two types of back pain : acute pain and chronic pain .
“ Acute pain is something that hurts for a day or two , then goes away ,” she said . “ It ’ s usually muscular and accompanied by strain or inflammation . If you have experienced acute pain , it ’ s beneficial to try and figure out what you did that caused it and make corrections to not do it again .
“ On the other hand , chronic pain can be dull or intense , but it ’ s usually something you deal with constantly — and can even make it difficult to do daily activities . Since it can emit from pinched nerves and compressed or slipped discs , chronic pain is more serious , so it ’ s best to stay ahead of the pain you feel and try to correct habits that cause it .”
Narkevic said one reason back pain is so common stems from simply sitting at a desk job all day . The compression and bad posture that results can have irreversible consequences — which is why so many companies have started encouraging standing desks or walk breaks .
No matter the cause , back pain never helps you play better .
“ When we think of pain and golfing , we think of low back pain — and most times it is low back pain that people experience ,” Narevic said . “ However , the golf swing needs tremendous amounts of power and accuracy , which require your full body to perform .”
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Here are the three primary groups of back muscles that affect your swing :
• The trapezius , or “ traps ”, extend down from your neck and provide upper body posterity and stability in helping your shoulders move .
• The latissimus dorsi , which extend from under your armpits down both sides of your ribcage . These “ lats ” lengthen during your backswing and contract going into your downswing , helping produce power .
PIGEON STRETCH
This exercise helps open up your hips and elongate your lower back to alleviate or prevent pain .
To begin , set up in a high plank position on the floor , with one knee up toward your chest and the other shin perpendicular to your body .
• Stay on your hands or lower down to your forearms for a deeper stretch .
• To reduce the amount of stretch , create more of an acute angle instead of a right angle .
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• Finally , there are the erector spinae ( posterior chain ) muscles , which run down the length of your spine to help with swing torque — assuming you have enough flexibility .
Let ’ s take a quick anatomy break to help better understand how a golf swing happens .
At the most basic level , every golf swing begins with ground contact — after all , your legs are the foundation that allows you to
38 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2023 vsga . org