Golf Back Injuries
Are you an individual who is suffering
from a lower back injury?
Is your lower back stiff and sore when you get out of bed
in the morning? Or, heaven forbid, are you one of many individuals
that has undergone back surgery?
Probably everyone reading this article has experienced a lower
back problem at some time or another in their lives. They
are no fun, can be very debilitating, and when it comes to
golf, they certainly won’t help lower your handicap or drive
the ball 300 yards.
I would like to share with you an e-mail question that I received
from my website www.bioforcegolf.com. Our BioForce Golf family
member stated: “I am a ‘mature’ individual and suffering from
lower back disc problems. They are not to the point that requires
surgery, but they do limit my ability to play golf.” His e-mail
continued to describe his lower back issues and ended with
a question: “Would someone like me benefit from your lower
back exercises, or would they exacerbate the problem?”
Before answering this gentleman’s question, let me give you
a little background information. BioForce Golf has a golf
fitness manual available titled Your Body & Your Swing. In
this manual, there are many exercises to assist in improving
your golf game.
Two stated goals exist for the exercises in this program;
number one is injury prevention, and number two is performance
improvement. Fairly self-explanatory in terms of their stated
goals. Realize even the slightest injury will hurt your golf
performance significantly.
I replied to this e-mail with a resounding “yes.”
The exercises in our program will help you with this type
of low back disc problem.
Let me explain how exercises for the lower back can assist
you.
The lower back is comprised of countless muscles, skeletal
structures, and fibrous structures. The fibrous structures
are in the form of discs and other types of cartilage. Injuries
to the body have what I call a “three tier effect.” If the
body is overstressed by any activity like swinging a golf
club, lifting heavy boxes, or even typing on a computer, the
overload on the body (amount of work performed by the body)
will affect the muscular system first. This can be in the
form of muscle soreness, tightness, or a slight pull. If I
lift too many heavy boxes or swing a club too many times,
my muscles are the “first line of defense” to injury.
If I continue to perform this high workload level and ignore
what my muscles are telling me, my second line of defense
kicks in.
The “second line of defense” is my cartilage and ligament
structures (i.e. discs in the lower back).
How do you know if you are suffering from a second tier problem?
Indicators are inflammation, tears, or bulging of a lower
back disc. Usually this is when folks go to a doctor. If you
are reading this and this paragraph hits a chord, I strongly
suggest seeking counsel of a physician.
Finally, if the workloads still continue at a high level,
without any intervention, the skeletal structure will be affected.
This can be in the formation of bone spurs or stress fractures.
An example of such a situation is the formation of bone spurs
commonly found in a pitcher’s elbow or the degeneration of
lower back structures in a golfer.
To stop this injury cycle, or help in the rehabilitation of
a current problem, I strongly suggested you first seek professional
medical attention. This will assist in the diagnosis and proper
treatment of the injury.
Exercises can help rehab a golfer in such situations if implemented
correctly and under supervision of a qualified individual.
The best way to prevent an injury is to Prehab. Prehab exercises,
as they are often called, develop high levels of muscular
strength and endurance to “handle” the workloads placed upon
the body. This can assist in preventing an injury that begins
the cycle described above.
Now, if you are a golfer that is already “walking down the
path” of a debilitating injury, our goal is to help you reverse
the cycle.
Again, seek professional medical attention and be under supervision
throughout the process if you have suffered a problem. If
you are starting a new golf fitness program to help with your
prehab, seek professional guidance to help minimize the risk
of injury.
The cycle can be reversed by unloading the skeletal and ligament
structures and placing the loads upon the muscular structure.
Let me explain using the example from above.
For example, if a person is in a situation where his muscular
structures are “overloaded” and his discs are taking the brunt
of the work, every time he swings a club, bends over to line
up his putt, or picks up his ball, the discs are screaming
“ouch!” My goal, if I were his trainer, would be to start
a series of exercises that would strengthen the muscles of
the lower back, resulting in the stresses being taken away
from the discs. Once the muscles are strong and have high
levels of endurance, they can handle the “workloads” placed
upon the body during golf or any activity!
Over time, the exercises would alleviate the stress on the
discs, get this individual out of “pain,” and restore them
to a higher level of activity.
In a nutshell, to prevent injury you must develop the muscular
strength and endurance to handle the workloads placed upon
your body everyday. If you are an avid golfer then I would
strongly suggest starting a golf-specific fitness program.
This will help you to prevent an injury resulting from the
stresses placed upon your body during repetitive golf swings.
Secondarily, a golf-specific fitness program will help you
dramatically improve your performance on the course.
About the Author
Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors
in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with
2005 PGA & 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made
many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement
techniques available to amateur golfers on the website www.bioforcegolf.com
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