Golfers Back

The golf swing (not to mention the hunched-over putting stance many of us get into) puts great stress on the golfer's back, so it's no surprise back pain is the most common problem for golfers.

Back pain in golfers might be mechanical or disc-related, arthritis-related, or caused by a stress fracture, among other possible causes.

Symptoms: Pain in back, stiffness, muscle spasms, leg symptoms if nerve irritation is present (numbness, pain, and/or weakness in the legs).

Treatments: Among the possible treatments is the use of Rapid Performance's Rapid Red Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice to remove inflammation and reduce pain related to back strain.

Do:

• Use proper back mechanics when lifting your bag.
• Bend through the knees (squat) when retrieving the ball.
• Consider switching to a putter with a longer shaft.
• Slow down the back-swing to minimize rotational stress on the lower back at the top of the back-swing.
• Adopt a big shoulder and hip turn on the back-swing (classic swing technique).
• Make sure body weight is properly shifted to the right foot during the backswing, and that the arms and shoulders are kept within the plane of the swing at the top of the back-swing.

Don't:

• Place the feet too far apart at the address phase (this limits the hip turn later in the swing and increases stress on the lower back).
• Hyper-extend the spine on the follow-through, but rather utilize the relaxed upright "I" position (classic swing technique).