Don’t let back slow down your golf game

Editor's note: Cody Scharf owns Thrive Spine and Sport, a chiropractic and soft tissue clinic in Cedar Rapids focusing on sport and overuse injuries. Scharf is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic and certified by Integrative Diagnosis for diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue injuries.

By Cody Scharf, community contributor

Low back pain and golf almost go hand in hand.

Studies have shown more than 28 percent of all players suffer from low back pain after every round. For most golfers, it is not a matter of if you will get low back pain, but when.

So how can you prevent or fix your low back pain during golf?

Overuse injuries are the number one cause of low back pain in golfers. Overuse injuries develop overtime through repetitive, abnormal motions. While getting lessons to make improvements to your swing can definitely help, most abnormal movements start with dysfunction in the muscles themselves.

Anyone who has ever played golf has probably heard the golf swing, itself, is an unnatural movement. Fortunately, the swing can be simplified and broken down into more 'natural” movements to find out where your problems exist.

Start evaluating yourself with these three simple tests:

1. Standing toe touch: Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend at the waist and go down as far as you comfortably can. Fingers should be able to touch the toes at minimum. Pain in your back or 'stretching” into the calf are signs of potential problems.

2. Knee-to-chest: Lie flat on the ground. Bend one knee and try to pull the leg up to the chest until the front of the leg is flat against the bottom of the rib cage. If the opposing leg lifts off the ground before the leg touching the bottom of the rib cage, there is pain in the inner thigh or front of the hip, or the leg is unable to touch the bottom of the rib cage, the test is positive.

3. Thoracic rotation. Sit in a chair with your back away from the back of the chair. Put your feet and knees together at 90-degree angles to the floor. Extend both arms in front of you and place your hands and fingers together. Rotate to one side without your fingers sliding off each other. Proper range should be close to 60 degrees of rotation and both sides should be close to equal. Anything short of 60 degrees, side to side imbalances, or any pain noted is a problem.

These three tests are a simple way to test and see how your mid back, low back and hips are moving. These areas are vital not only to your golf swing but to your low back health, as well. Adhesion is the most common reason, I find, the above mentioned tests to be positive. Adhesion is a buildup of scar tissue on the muscles that reduce range of motion and can cause weakness, inflammation and pain. It forms from overuse.

If you find some of these tests to be restricted, start with some simple mobility techniques at home. Foam rolling is a great place to start. Start by 'rolling out” your hamstrings, glutes and entire back once a day. You can use it as a nice warm-up before hitting the links or whenever you get five minutes during the day. Also, make sure to implement a proper warm-up before playing a round by stretching for a couple minutes.

If you are currently experiencing pain, I would advise checking in with a medical professional who is trained to diagnose and treat overuse and sport injuries. Foam rolling can help with warm up and recovery and may be able to improve your mobility, but it cannot fix most muscle and joint problems, like adhesion. Adhesion is a relatively small that can be fixed quickly. If it doesn't, it can lead to bigger issues down the road.

l For more information, email Scharf at cody.scharf@gmail.com or visit www.thrivespineandsport.com