Lower Back Care For Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
Lower Back Care For Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

So if you're really enjoying your golf, the last thing you want to stop you from playing golf is an injury. Particularly prevalent in golf is a lower back injury. Because we spend a lot of time bending forwards in the golf swing, turning and twisting from this action and also carrying our golf bag and then bending over to get the ball in and out of the hole and put tee pegs on the ground, our lower back can come under a lot of stress. So here's a couple of ways that you can manage that better.

First, you warm up and exercise. Now, if you've got a daily routine of exercising, just put an extra couple of lower back exercises or stretches into that routine. The simple stuff you can do before you tee off in the golf course, take your golf club, place it over the back of your shoulders, start to make some basic golf swings here just warming up your back. As you get a bit more flexibility through here, start to make it into a full swing.

The things I like before you tee off are definitely going to help you out. Even just a little toe touch here just to stretch out the hamstrings, stretch out the lower back, that will pay dividends when you first tee off in the golf course that you feel like you've got a bit more flexibility, little bit more movement.

Then looking at back carriage as you go around the golf course, if you've got a great big bag like I have here, a tall bag, for example, don't attempt to try and carry this. Stick it on the trolley and preferably a push trolley. If you can push a trolley in front of you that generally stays square with your body if you push it forwards or electric trolley or a cart rather than a trolley that have to be pulled behind where you have this little twist through your body for four hours as you're dragging that around the gold course. That can start take its toll as well.

If you are going to carry your golf bag, try and get your golf bag down as light as possible. Don't carry any excess clubs or equipment, and ideally a dual shoulder strap, one that goes over your shoulders like a rucksack. If you've only got the single strap back, swap it from shoulder to shoulder every hole just to make sure you even out the distribution of the weight and the wear on your back.

If you are going to be bending down to put the ball on the tee and you do know you've got a lower back issue, try and make sure you bend at the knees, so simply bending down at the knees to place the ball on the tee peg rather than straight leg then reaching forwards. And it might not seem like a big thing, but if you've done that over the course of four hours over 18 holes and you're bending down for the tee peg and to put the tee in, to take the tee out, and to get the ball in and out of the hole, it will start to take its toll over the course of a full round. So hopefully, if you can look after all those different elements of your back, you should be able to play better and fit to golf for longer.

 2012-05-09

So if you're really enjoying your golf, the last thing you want to stop you from playing golf is an injury. Particularly prevalent in golf is a lower back injury. Because we spend a lot of time bending forwards in the golf swing, turning and twisting from this action and also carrying our golf bag and then bending over to get the ball in and out of the hole and put tee pegs on the ground, our lower back can come under a lot of stress. So here's a couple of ways that you can manage that better.

First, you warm up and exercise. Now, if you've got a daily routine of exercising, just put an extra couple of lower back exercises or stretches into that routine. The simple stuff you can do before you tee off in the golf course, take your golf club, place it over the back of your shoulders, start to make some basic golf swings here just warming up your back. As you get a bit more flexibility through here, start to make it into a full swing.

The things I like before you tee off are definitely going to help you out. Even just a little toe touch here just to stretch out the hamstrings, stretch out the lower back, that will pay dividends when you first tee off in the golf course that you feel like you've got a bit more flexibility, little bit more movement.

Then looking at back carriage as you go around the golf course, if you've got a great big bag like I have here, a tall bag, for example, don't attempt to try and carry this. Stick it on the trolley and preferably a push trolley. If you can push a trolley in front of you that generally stays square with your body if you push it forwards or electric trolley or a cart rather than a trolley that have to be pulled behind where you have this little twist through your body for four hours as you're dragging that around the gold course. That can start take its toll as well.

If you are going to carry your golf bag, try and get your golf bag down as light as possible. Don't carry any excess clubs or equipment, and ideally a dual shoulder strap, one that goes over your shoulders like a rucksack. If you've only got the single strap back, swap it from shoulder to shoulder every hole just to make sure you even out the distribution of the weight and the wear on your back.

If you are going to be bending down to put the ball on the tee and you do know you've got a lower back issue, try and make sure you bend at the knees, so simply bending down at the knees to place the ball on the tee peg rather than straight leg then reaching forwards. And it might not seem like a big thing, but if you've done that over the course of four hours over 18 holes and you're bending down for the tee peg and to put the tee in, to take the tee out, and to get the ball in and out of the hole, it will start to take its toll over the course of a full round. So hopefully, if you can look after all those different elements of your back, you should be able to play better and fit to golf for longer.