My Dad - Back Pain

[Lifter]

My dad is complaining about back pain. Could his swing below be contributing? How? His predominate ballflight is weak slices that he starts way to the left.

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[ZAP]

He looks really limited in terms of flexibility. Hands never get above shoulder height and there looks to be almost no independent movement of the hips and shoulders. I would start with some testing on range of motion of the joints involved and see where you are. I am betting Dad was a decent athlete in his day. Maybe a little proper flexibility training could get him some more freedom in his swing. Might need the services of a trainer or PT and even a massotherapist to do it right.

 

[Richie3Jack]

I think your dad is suffering from a lack of flexibility. If it's lower back pain, I would advise him to get into a total body stretching program...in particular, the lower body (hamstrings, calfs, etc). That helped me with my lower back pain. Also avoid putting the wallet in the back pocket of your pants. If you sit down with that wallet in the back pocket, that will cause back pain as well.





3JACK

 

[Lifter]

Here's my dad this morning just before we went out and played:

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Almost exactly the same as the videos above. Shouldn't the big over-the-top out-to-in swing that he has contribute to back pain due to the steep impacts that that creates?

 

[Richie3Jack]

Almost exactly the same as the videos above. Shouldn't the big over-the-top out-to-in swing that he has contribute to back pain due to the steep impacts that that creates?

Why would it?

His shoulders are not turning steep in the downswing, so he's not putting any pressure on the spine or the lower back muscles.





3JACK

 

[Lifter]

Why would it?

His shoulders are not turning steep in the downswing, so he's not putting any pressure on the spine or the lower back muscles.





3JACK

Aha, this is where it gets interesting! I've been telling him that he needs to turn his shoulders steeply in kind of a stack and tilt fashion. Maybe that's contributing to his problems. Is there any way for him to turn his shoulders steeply and avoid back pain? Seems to me that steeper shoulders should result in a better swing plane and more power for him.

 

[Dariusz J.]

Your Dad swings like that because his subconscious mind associates "better" movements with pain and he's afraid to "cross the border". I was a very similar victim of similar back issues 2 years ago (with my big mass and limited flexibility) until I made my swing natural and forgot all current instruction BS recommendations (get rid of OTT, swing with stationary head, don't turn your head with the shot, keep your wrist angles forever and similar anti-biokinetic rubbish). The point is that the flexibility shrinking is THE EFFECT not the cause. The power of subconscious mind is bigger than we all think.
Look at the correlation between your Dad's rear foot movement and spine movement and pivot. It says everything. Make him swing OTT with a diagonal stance and his back problems are bye bye.

Cheers

P.S. Do not worry mods, I won't be posting often, just wanted to help in a particular cause on the base of my own autopsy.

 

[Lifter]

Your Dad swings like that because his subconscious mind associates "better" movements with pain and he's afraid to "cross the border". I was a very similar victim of similar back issues 2 years ago (with my big mass and limited flexibility) until I made my swing natural and forgot all current instruction BS recommendations (get rid of OTT, swing with stationary head, don't turn your head with the shot, keep your wrist angles forever and similar anti-biokinetic rubbish). The point is that the flexibility shrinking is THE EFFECT not the cause. The power of subconscious mind is bigger than we all think.
Look at the correlation between your Dad's rear foot movement and spine movement and pivot. It says everything. Make him swing OTT with a diagonal stance and his back problems are bye bye.

Cheers

P.S. Do not worry mods, I won't be posting often, just wanted to help in a particular cause on the base of my own autopsy.

Interesting. Are you saying aim his stance diagonally to the right? In the video above, it appears to me that his shoulders are very open.

 

[johnnymarlboro]

Does your Dad practice putting alot? I know when i spend alot of time on the putting green my back is screaming later.

Also, I believe Dariuz is saying aim right with the feet and swing left, kinda like a Snead move. It does look like his shoulders are pretty open compared to his stance though. My guess is that his shoulders are so open because of hitting driver and the forward ball position. I think that's a fairly common problem, but I would defer to the experts on it. It's hard to tell where he's aiming though.

 

[Lifter]

Does your Dad practice putting alot? I know when i spend alot of time on the putting green my back is screaming later.

Also, I believe Dariuz is saying aim right with the feet and swing left, kinda like a Snead move. It does look like his shoulders are pretty open compared to his stance though. My guess is that his shoulders are so open because of hitting driver and the forward ball position. I think that's a fairly common problem, but I would defer to the experts on it. It's hard to tell where he's aiming though.

Great point, johnnymarlboro. He has been practicing putting a lot. Just switched to cross-handed putting grip a couple days ago.

 

[Dariusz J.]

Yes, Snead was OTTer but still managed to play draws on command when he wanted. He played in the shape of a Tour player better than everyone else until his 80-ies. Think about it.

Cheers

 

[oldpro]

Sent you a PM Lifter...

 

[marlin]

I think that your dad need some type of the treatment of the a good one physician...
This would be most helpful to your father.... To have a complete medical checkup and
taking some rest he will be all right........

 

[willgolfer]

Time to cut the troll loose.

 

[trickyric67]

if doing something hurts go to doctor. I will however say that a lot of back pain is a result of tight hamstrings. You can get some very good stretching exercises on youtube. If proper stretching doesn't help go to a doctor, pain is the body's way of telling you something is wrong.

 

[Blair]

Often the players of the Golf suffer with back pain, What will the right attitude to
avoid these kind of the back pain. If any one have solution please...........

 

[Nilmar]

Hi,,,
I think that the Doctor is the right person that can advise you the best in this Regard.Do meet a Doctor asap to have an advice after Physical examination.You can get plenty of articles online for the back pain but they are useless as the treatment of each case varies...

 

[Erik_K]

I don't think a medical doctor is needed unless the pain is severe (something is torn or badly sprained). Rather a personal trainer or sports therapist is the way to go. Some strength training combined with stretching will help the swing and other activities.

Erik

 

[drewyallop]

Buy the book "Golf Anatomy" ( Kindle edition available). Tells you everything you need to know about golf injuries plus many exercises specifically to increase mobility in the golf swing and many others things - stability, strength, etc.

Drew

 

[tongzilla]

Check out the work of Dr Stuart McGill if you are serious in understanding your (lower) back pain, and finding real solutions to your problem.