Ouch! Is back pain limiting your golf swing?

There is no doubt back pain can come between you and a good round of golf. Even the most minor back pain can be enough of a distraction to not only wreak havoc with a player’s swing, but make for a round of golf you will want to soon forget.

How about you? Are you experiencing back pain when you play or after a round? Do you experience a severe tightening of the back muscles during or after your round?

Here is what is happening to you.

Golf requires you to maintain a spine angle that compromises the back. One of the biggest things you could do to prevent back pain or to prevent injury from occurring in the first place, is to build strong core muscles. A strong core will help you maintain that position pain free.  And just as importantly, a strong core will help you maintain that steady spine angle swing after swing after swing for a consistent swing and a more consistent game.  Furthermore, a lack of core development can result in a predisposition for back injury.

It should now be very apparent to you that core training is critical for any golf fitness program.

Back pain is endemic: It affects 8 out of every 10 people at one point in their lives. Americans spent some $86 billion in 2005 on doctor’s visits, surgery, imaging, and drugs to treat back and neck pain—and costs continue to rise each year. One of the best ways to stay out of the doctor’s office for back pain is to build a strong core with a proper golf fitness conditioning program.

What Muscles Make Up The “Core”?

The core muscles are the muscles that support our trunk. This includes our stomach muscles (traverse Abdominas, external Obliques, Internal Obliques and Rectus Abdominals), our glutes, our hips, and our erector spinae (The muscles that lie in the groove to the side of your vertebral column). These muscle groups make up what is commonly referred to as the “core”, and it’s this entire group of muscles that are addressed in our golf fitness program and that you should be addressing in order to see the game improvement you are looking for.

Now the question becomes, what can I do to improve the condition of my core, and what exercises must be included in a golf fitness program to address those?

I can already hear your screams.

“I hate sit ups or crunches!”

Well, I am here to tell you “you don’t have to do a single crunch to build a stong core.!” In fact, if your core training consists solely of sit ups and crunches, you are not working the entire core. It is important to work all the stomach muscles and all the muscles that make up the core. To accomplish that at least 30% of your golf fitness workout should include core training. Fortunately, there are many great core exercises for you to enjoy and I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the results that can be achieved without the exercises you typically think of for core fitness.

Is back pain keeping you from enjoying a round a golf right now?

Sometimes rest is the answer, however, many people often immobilize the injured back for too long. This sustained immobilization causes reduced range of motion and reduced strength. So, unfortunately, when you go back out on the course, you now have less range of motion and strength, which is bad for your golf game and sets you up for another injury.

Benefiting From Core Conditioning With Your Golf Fitness Program

When a core is strong it can hold the spine in the correct position for the golf swing. This allows you to make a correct swing, properly balanced and executed.

When the core isn’t strong enough, the back muscles step in to help.  This causes strain on the back muscles and back pain.  This also causes inefficient body movements or an inefficient golf swing. These inefficient and unnatural moves not only create an inconsistent swing and an inconsistent golf shot, but again, increase the odds of a spinal injury or back pain.

Do you want to improve your game, be more consistent and play golf back pain free? If so, you need to strengthen your core, and the best and fastest way to accomplish this is with our Be Golf Fit Golf Fitness Program.

Tagged as: eliminate back pain. be golf fit, golf and fitness, golf fitness, golt fitness training