Bad back since playing golf...

[leaney]

I've been playing golf for 3 weeks now and I've been practising at least every other day - 125 balls on the range at a time.

My back was fine before i started playing golf but it has got progressively worse and now I can't even hit a single ball due to the pain.

The pain is situated on the middle, left side of my back.

Has anyone else had the same problem?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Too many balls and not enough rest. I'd go see a sports physio as it sounds muscle related

 

[LS14]

Aye, treat golf as you would any other sport... Make sure there's plenty of rest in between your sessions and that you stretch adequately both before and after.

A lot of people I know suffered from back pains after their first forrays into golf because a lot of the actions and movements associated with the swing work muscles that aren't really put to work outside of the sport, particularly those in the lower back (most people associate a back work-out with around the shoulder blade area).

Get some rest, stretch adequately and, if possible, work on your core muscle groups.

 

[timgolfy]

I've been playing golf for 3 weeks now and I've been practising at least every other day - 125 balls on the range at a time.

My back was fine before i started playing golf but it has got progressively worse and now I can't even hit a single ball due to the pain.

The pain is situated on the middle, left side of my back.

Has anyone else had the same problem?

Leaney - I've had a very similar experience to you. Started playing last April and hit lots of balls. After a few weeks the pain started and became progressively worse, eventually forcing me to stop. It was all muscular pain.

I knew what the solution was, though I didn't want to accept it. Total rest from golf. It took another four weeks for the muscles to recover. For me it was just the muscles reacting to the new stresses (similar to muscles reacting to weight training), and now they've become stronger I've had no pain since then, even hitting 12,000+ balls in the last few months.

That was until last week when a new problem developed (felt more tendon, not just muscle), so I'm now out of action (which is infuriating as I have a Ping fitting this Friday but want to be in full health for that).

So the solution for me was: rest, recover, let the muscles adapt.

 

[surefire]

Leaney - I've had a very similar experience to you. Started playing last April and hit lots of balls. After a few weeks the pain started and became progressively worse, eventually forcing me to stop. It was all muscular pain.

I knew what the solution was, though I didn't want to accept it. Total rest from golf. It took another four weeks for the muscles to recover. For me it was just the muscles reacting to the new stresses (similar to muscles reacting to weight training), and now they've become stronger I've had no pain since then, even hitting 12,000+ balls in the last few months.

That was until last week when a new problem developed (felt more tendon, not just muscle), so I'm now out of action (which is infuriating as I have a Ping fitting this Friday but want to be in full health for that).

So the solution for me was: rest, recover, let the muscles adapt.

A lot of people I know suffered from back pains after their first forrays into golf because a lot of the actions and movements associated with the swing work muscles that aren't really put to work outside of the sport, particularly those in the lower back (most people associate a back work-out with around the shoulder blade area).

Careful here, the rest is definitely good advice, but it may not be as simple as using weak\underused muscles.

Depending on your lifestyle, you may have muscular imbalances (both in terms of opposing muscle groups, and phasic\postural muscle groups doing the wrong job) and hyper\hypo mobile regions of your body. This will then cause you to move in an inefficient way which may lead to injury. Resting will help, but then doing what you were doing before, may just bring it back.

It may be a case that you need to work on some areas of the body to make sure the body can move properly, so that you can swing a golf club and stay injury free. You may also need to look at technique as even without these problems, you may not be moving efficiently.

I would also add this becomes even more important for someone like Tim, who is going for a high swing speed, as there is more potential to cause damage.

 

[leaney]

Thank you for all of your comments.

I will certainly give it some rest this week and see how it feels then. I have rested it today and it feels quite a bit better but if I know I wouldn't be able to swing a club at the moment.

I do a lot of heavy gym work, which includes my back. So I think it is definitely golf related as I have a big strong back which has always been ok until now.

I will rest and see what happens...... thanks

 

[surefire]

Thank you for all of your comments.

I will certainly give it some rest this week and see how it feels then. I have rested it today and it feels quite a bit better but if I know I wouldn't be able to swing a club at the moment.

I do a lot of heavy gym work, which includes my back. So I think it is definitely golf related as I have a big strong back which has always been ok until now.

I will rest and see what happens...... thanks

Good idea.

One other thing to consider, is that heavy gym work may not equate to a strong back in golf terms. Big numbers in lat pull down, rows etc.. don't take into account the torque from a rotation sport like golf, and also the flexion and extension of the spine that you may have in your swing.

Do you work on thoracic mobility (extension and rotation mainly), and hip rotation (internal and external)?
As a generalisation I think making sure these areas are strong and mobile (especially if you do a job that is seated all day) would be the first port of call to avoid a bad back from golf.