Tips for Minimizing Back Injuries in Golf

As the weather gets nicer and the ground dries up, many people are itching to get out on the golf course. It is a great activity, but golf is a sport that places tremendous forces on the back. With our sedentary lifestyles, we have already created weakness in our backs; so if you sit all day in an office and use golf as your only activity... you are creating the perfect storm for back injury!


Here are a few easy tips to minimize (although certainly not erase!) the strain on your back during your golf game:

• Stretch your hips out regularly: tight hips transfer rotational force into your back.
• Address the ball with knees slightly bent and feet slightly turned out. This will transfer some of the strain to your legs
• Push your clubs rather than pull them. When using a hand held cart, pulling it behind you creates a constant rotational force through the spine. Pushing the cart removes that extra strain on the back
• If you insist on carrying your clubs, use a lightweight, double shoulder strap (back-pack style) type of bag rather than one that crosses the chest and limit the number of extra objects that aren't typically used that are carried in the bag.
• If you use a motorized golf cart, try to stick to the smoothest path as hitting bumps will create a compression force on the backs.
• One last very simple thing to do to decrease back strain in your golf game is to pick up the ball either by kicking one leg out behind you, squatting down or using a ball retriever.

There are other more technical ways to decrease the forces placed on your back during your golf swing, but they are too difficult to get into here. Hopefully these tips will help and best of luck with the upcoming golf season!!

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.