Golf is not only a great way to socialise and have fun. It's also great way to stay fit and healthy.
However, you may be left feeling frustrated if you've being affected by ongoing lower back pain, a common complaint amongst golf lovers.
In this post we're going to take a look at how to stop lower back pain after playing golf without having to rely on painkillers.
There are numerous reasons why playing golf can lead to lower back pain. It can be itself the leading cause or a contributing factor with the addition to other aspects around your lifestyle such as your sleeping position or your posture.
One way golf can tend to lead to lower back pain is because of the rotational movement we do when swinging a golf club. This movement isn't typical in our day to day life, so when we do this movement the muscles we're using can often be weak or more vulnerable to injury.
Lower back pain can start just from the fact that playing a round of golf can be tiresome, especially for someone who doesn't play golf often or has spent relatively large amounts of time sitting down. This is particular for someone who has a desk job for example.
Should you be playing golf with lower back pain?
If you are experiencing lower back pain when playing golf, we would recommend you minimise the activity until you receive treatment. Lower back pain can at times be a complex issue and seeking treatment early can help avoid any further long lasting complications in your movement as a result of lower back pain.
If you are experiencing lower back pain after playing golf and it's lingering for a few days after playing, we would recommend seeking treatment as any pain that's lasted for several days is unlikely to go away by itself without some sort of intervention.
To prevent lower back pain during golf there are some simple and effective ways to reduce and even eliminate your discomfort altogether.
1. Warm up!
A warm up is a great way to loosen your muscles and increase your range of motion in
your joints, reducing the risk of lower back pain.
2. Don't swing too hard!
If you don't try and hit the ball as hard as you can then you can keep more of a controlled technique, reducing the chances of pushing your lower back beyond its limit.
3. Improve your core.
Improving your core strength will enable you to hit the ball further and still maintain a safe posture and technique.
4. Play more!
Your muscles will start getting use to the movements you make when you gradually start to play more golf giving you a better capacity as oppose to jumping straight into 18 holes.
The driving range is a great place to start!
There are of course many contributing factors that can impact your lower back, and it's not always clear how to stop it.
At AS Sports Therapy we take the time to listen and understand your pain points and what the likely cause is to your lower back pain. When you see us we also provide you with a custom rehab plan and exercises to help improve your core and posture, a great way to improve your golf performance without lower back pain!
If you want to prevent or stop lower back pain and like to learn more on how we can help you then don't hesitate getting in touch, we will always be happy to help and advise.
