Titleist Tips: Golf and Lower Back Pain

If you’ve played golf for any length of time, it’s likely that you’ve been sidelined by lower back pain. The lumbar region of the spine is particularly vulnerable in rotational sports like golf, but you can avoid those visits to the chiropractor with proper swing mechanics. In this video, Titleist staff member and TPI co-founder Dr. Greg Rose explains that it’s the thoracic spine and the hips that should be mobile in the golf swing. In contrast, the lower back should remain stable.

But guess what happens when you don’t turn your shoulders and hips sufficiently? That’s right, you try to recruit more turn from elsewhere. Unfortunately this is frequently the vertebrae in your lower back, a part of the body that isn’t design to rotate. It doesn’t take much over-rotation before you over-tax the supporting muscles around the lumbar spine and they go into spasm (and you “throw your back out”). The results are painful and debilitating, but Greg has some simple tips to reverse the harmful cycle.

How can prevent hurting your lower back when you golf?

1. Use and improve your hip mobility
2. Use and improve your thoracic spine mobility
3. Check your swing on video or in a mirror and make sure that you don’t have reverse spine angle

Following Dr. Rose’s prescription will protect and maintain stability in your lumbar spine and keep you golfing pain-free.

For more tips and drills from Greg and other Titleist Staff Members, visit Titleist Instruction: https://bit.ly/2W4QkIR

TPI is the world’s leading educational organization dedicated to the study of how the human body functions in relation to the golf swing. You can benefit from their cutting-edge research and improve your game through their vast collection of golf-specific health, fitness and swing instruction. Visit MyTPI.com.