Golf is a lifelong game that brings families, friends and colleagues together. It is a game enjoyed by many both recreationally and professionally. Whether you’re an infrequent player or someone who hits the links every day, there is a good chance you’ve experienced lower back pain as a result of your golf swing.

According to Titleist Performance Institute, 23 percent of professional golfers play with low back pain and 28 percent of golfers in general deal with low back pain after every round of golf.

A little effort to improve form and reduce low back pain can go a long way both on and off the course.

Key Muscles Used in Golf
Massage therapist Tom Myers talks about the Spiral Lines in his book Anatomy Trains. This is a ribbon-like band of muscles, connected by fascia: it wraps around the body and is the chain of muscles that rapidly contract and then stretch with movement. This band of muscles is particularly essential for the golfer who wants to maximize efficiency. These muscles must be free of dysfunction in order to golf efficiently.

How Chiropractic Medicine Can Help Your Game
A golfer’s swing requires a great deal of mobility, balance and muscle coordination. There are two manual chiropractic therapies that can help your body move properly: ART® and Graston Techniques®. These techniques help to create dynamic stability at a joint by encouraging proper motor control.

The combination of chiropractic joint manipulation in addition to ART®, Graston Techniques®, and myofascial therapy fosters total-body stability through motor control and dynamic stability.

Spinal discs don’t like rotation, flexion or rapid movements, all things that are key to the golf swing. This is made far worse if the golfer doesn’t have the adequate balance of sacroiliac, core or lumbar stability and mobility. Chiropractic care can help to alleviate pain and protect spinal/disc health.

The Importance of a Proper Swing
The golf swing requires multiple joints to either move or to stabilize. It requires this in a tiny amount of time and with an immense degree of power. If anything is off, the body quickly has to compensate. In other words, if the ankle isn’t moving enough then the knee or hip is going to have to move into an awkward position to achieve the motion needed for the swing. This will force the spine to rotate over an unstable base. This is how injuries occur. Maintaining balance and sustaining mobility through chiropractic methods can help to avoid injury on the golf course.