Whether the pain is in your elbows hips or shoulders, the solution is often in your upper back.
By Amanda Loudin
Oct. 24, 2024
The average golfer will swing their club about 94 times over the course of 18 holes, and some 26.6 million golfers took to the links in 2023. All of those swings tend to add up to a lot of injuries.
“When you swing a golf club, you’re asking your body to generate a lot of force,” said Gene Shirokobrod, a physical therapist in Maryland who has created a program designed to reduce golf injuries and improve performance. “Most people’s daily activities don’t require that kind of aggressive, rotational force” that the game requires, he said.
Even among young players, those sudden movements can cause back pain — the most common golf injury — or elbow pain and shoulder pain. Considering that the average age for a U.S. golfer is 44 (and that most play more as they age), it’s important to get ahead of injuries before they happen, since they can be harder to recover from when you’re older.
The key is to expand your spine’s range of motion, which will prevent future pain — and may even improve your swing.
For most people, daily life doesn’t require moving your spine through its full range of motion. As a result, that range becomes limited over time. Then, when you suddenly push your spine and hips to their limits during a golf swing, it’s a recipe for injury.
If you have limited mobility in either your upper (or thoracic) spine or your hips, your body will try to create the force it needs in other ways — often stressing other parts of the body. The low back is particularly susceptible, even if you don’t play golf, because it’s less mobile and it sits between the swiveling upper back and hips, said Dr. Shirokobrod.
“If you can’t get enough rotation from your thoracic spine and your hip, the low back absorbs the forces,” he added.
Mobility limitations can also lead to pain on the inside of the elbow, also known as “golfer’s elbow,” because bringing your elbow farther back to compensate puts more strain on it.
Bianca Beldini, a New York-based physical therapist who specializes in golf injuries, said that shoulders can take similar abuse: “I’ll hear from patients that they experience a deep pain under their shoulder blade when they inhale,” she said. “This comes from the swing follow-through and an inability to rotate your thoracic spine.”
Lastly, hip mobility also plays a smaller but still significant role in golf injuries. “Golf requires your hips to rotate internally and externally, and many people are limited,” said Corey Podbielski, a doctor of physical therapy at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Conn.
To hit a golf ball well and avoid getting injured in the process, you need both skill and ability. And while you can watch YouTube or take lessons to refine your skill, your ability often comes down to thoracic spine and hip mobility, said Dr. Shirokobrod.
To do this, you need to make the most of your ability to rotate. For an example of rotational exercises that can help a golf swing, try this simple 20-minute workout.
Mobility exercises like this usually require little to no equipment. For your spine, choose movements that rotate from side to side, taking your spine as far as it will go. Because the upper spine moves more and can be the cause of low back pain, that’s where you want to focus. Think rotational medicine ball slams, or even a Russian twist, if you turn your torso all the way to each side. Exercises like planks that don’t twist the trunk are less effective at building mobility.
For your hips, try something that extends how far they can go while challenging the joint, like adductor rock backs. Don’t expect to see results right away, and aim to perform them consistently — even daily — for at least six weeks.
And just as improved spine and hip mobility helps on the golf course, it can also enhance your ability to comfortably perform regular daily tasks, such as backing out of a parking spot and turning to see where you’re headed.
“When you train movement for golf, the more specific, the better. But that will absolutely carry over to your general living, too,” Dr. Podbielski said.