Most golfers strive to enjoy their endless pursuit of the lowest possible score. To reach your fullest potential on the golf course, it’s important to keep your body in the best possible health and condition. Often, back pain is a worrisome complaint among many golfers and finding back pain relief is of the greatest priority. After all the hard work you’ve put into perfecting your swing, back pain can impede your success and add unwanted strokes to your score.
Before hitting the course, there are a few measures you can take to prevent back pain from ever occurring. The simple act of warming-up and gently stretching can loosen your muscles, stretch your tendons and allow a free range of movement. If you often find yourself racing out of the locker room and onto the tee box, consider finding a moment to do a few stretches before taking that first, powerful drive.
Many people don’t realize that the pro’s actually have a semi-truck trailer filled with a complete gym and special athletic trainers to help them stay conditioned and flexible. If you’ve ever watched a professional golf tournament, you might notice that the pros always take the time to loosen up and stretch before teeing off.
Use your driver to assist you, as you gently stretch and lengthen the muscles in your back, abdominal area and legs. Too much tension in these regions is a recipe for muscular injury. As your game progresses, it’s important to keep these areas loose and limber. Specialized stretching can also bring back pain relief to those who currently suffer through the aches and pains.
One of the most productive and effective ways to prevent back pain, and to find back pain relief, is to choose the foot path over the golf cart. Walking the course is great exercise, and it can build the muscles necessary to facilitate a healthy back and spine. It can be tempting to accept a golf cart from the kind folks behind the counter at your course’s pro shop, but choosing to hoof it can benefit your body in a number of ways.
Ultimately, walking the course as you play will aid in strengthening your core muscles, toning your legs and promoting weight loss. With your body in better, overall condition, you are less likely to sustain an injury that could leave you without the ability to play. If carrying your bag threatens to be a task too great to handle, many courses offer pull carts that make toting your clubs an easier (and less weighty) task.
With these simple changes in your golf routine, you can help to prevent or alleviate back pain. Get smarter about natural remedies if you need a little something more for relief from back pain. You’ll be free to enjoy the game once again and resume that pursuit of the lowest possible score. And remember, a well-conditioned, thoroughly stretched back helps ensure good technique and is the key to a limber swing and a pain-free round of golf.
About the author: Daniel Bullock M.D. is a Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon and former Senior Team Physician of the U.S. Cycling Team. He knows that sometimes you may want to add topical back pain relief medication, to get the best exercises and stretching.