Shout-out to all the golfers out there. Chances are like most who play this game, you’re probably more often than not frustrated after your round rather than ecstatic about the flawless golf you just played (hence the 19th hole.
What we hate to see is frustration after a game not because of the shots you left out there, but because of pain. Lower back, shoulders, elbow and/or neck pain can all contribute to a miserable round!
There are many reasons that we may experience pain during swing, but often there is a common culprit… a stiff thoracic spine (upper back). A golf swing is a combination of our knees, hips, spine, shoulders and wrist working together to create a coordinated torque (or rotation) to swing the club, and a big portion of this is through rotation of our thoracic spine.
Let’s use the chain of a swing as an analogy- every link on a swing chain has a portion of movement required of it to globally move the swing. Imagine that we shrink-wrap or stiffen a big portion of the middle of the chain. The swing chair will still move when pushed, but the movement will become a lot jerkier, and the links of chain directly above and below the shrink-wrap will end up contributing a lot more hinge than originally required.
Imagine the shrink-wrapped chain is our stiff thoracic spine, and the links above are our neck and shoulders- we still generally achieve a full swing, but what will the quality of movement be like? And where is the extra movement coming from?
Most likely the excessive movement will come from our shoulders, neck and potentially our lumbar spine (low-back). So, for pain experienced in any of these areas during a golf swing, it is imperative that we first look at thoracic spine mobility. It’s incredible the difference we can make with a few simple stretches and mobility drills!
If you are experiencing pain during your round of golf give us a call on 8544 8484 to book in for an assessment, maybe you’ll even find a few more metres on your drive!
In the meantime, have a look at these simple thoracic mobility exercises you can give a go at home…
http://www.lifestylephysiocronulla.com.au/2019/06/magic-thoracic-spine/#more-1893
