The weather is beginning to get nice and spring is in the air. This is the time that all golfers who live in the UP will dust off the clubs that have been put into storage for the winter and start to golf. This is also the time that you can get a back injury from not swinging a club in the past 6 months.
The data reveals 7 in 10 amateurs will suffer golf-related injury at least once in a lifetime. Spine injuries are the number one area to be injured as a golfer. This is caused by the amount of force that is placed through the spine during a golf swing. A study done showed that there is the same amount of force across the lumbar spine as is equivalent to about 8 times the average human body weight.
We at UP Rehab want you to be able to enjoy a round of golf and not worry about back pain limiting you. With that said, here are some simple things to be mindful of when starting to go golfing this spring.
You want to go slow into returning to golf after being off for the winter. Liken this to starting a running program. You wouldn’t just start running a 5k without easing into it first with maybe a walk/run program then just a run for 1 mile and then gradually increase your mileage about 10% per week. The same progression can be with starting golf. You want to plan about 4 weeks before your first golf outing. Plan on doing some gentle warm-up exercises like a stationary bike and start to add exercises to loosen up your thoracic spine, shoulders and hips. If you can loosen up these areas and give yourself more motion in these joints you will lessen your stress on your lumbar spine and reduce your chance of having back pain/injury.
We are hopeful that if you are able to ease into the spring golf season and start to do a stretching program, you can prevent back pain. However, if you do start to get back pain with golf, you can come see us at UP Rehab for a free injury screen with one of our therapist/trainers. Here we can determine what is causing your back pain and return you to pain free golf. Find us on our website UPRehab.com and request a visit at a location nearest you.
