Getting To The Root Of Your Back Pain – Part 2

In last week’s article we talked about how rotation is vital in the golf swing. There are two main areas that need to have sufficient rotation: hips and mid-back. If you remember, lacking sufficient rotation in either of those areas can contribute to back pain in golf.

Now, last week’s article highlighted the hips and focused primarily on improving hip internal rotation. This is because a lack of hip internal rotation has been found to be correlated with low back pain in golfers.

Improving Mid-Back Rotation

In this article we’re going to go over a similar 3-step process to improve your ability to rotate through your mid-back.  Before we get into the process, let’s review what makes up the mid-back and all of it’s moving parts.

So when we’re talking about the mid-back, were talking about the area just beneath your neck down to your last rib.  When you rotate through your mid-back, you’re probably thinking the spine is what’s rotating.  Which is true, however it’s not the only area that’s contributing to your rotation through this entire area.  Your ribs and breastbone will also contribute to your ability to rotate.

I’d be remiss if I also didn’t mention your lungs and diaphragm.  The lungs & the diaphragm will not directly contribute to your rotation.  But, your ability to breathe and use your breath properly can without a doubt affect your ability to rotate effectively and efficiently.  We’ll save a lot of the breathing and breath work for another article.

A 3-Step Process To Improve Your Mid-Back Mobility

Get Your Joints Moving

More often than not, people lack mobility in their mid-back because their joints get stiff.  This is a great drill to get you moving better instantly!  Sit on the edge of a hard chair. Bring your feet and knees together and keep them together throughout the movement. Doing this will help to minimize any movement from your low back and hips. Twist your trunk to one side and take notice how far you can go. From there, side bend backwards and take a deep breath in and let it out. Then tilt your trunk back upright and you should be able to turn even more into the same direction. Then repeat the side bend and breathing two more times to that same side. You can do this on both sides for 2-3 rounds.

Work Into The New Range of Motion

We need to follow-up the previous drill with active motion into the new range.  Start on your hands and knees. Take one arm and reach under your other side as far as you can. Then rotate back the other way and reach your arm up towards the ceiling. You can repeat this 10-20 times each side.  Make sure that you go through as much range of motion as possible.

Use Resistance To Maintain The New Range

Performing the motion through a full range with resistance will help to keep the new motion last longer.  Stand in golf posture with a light resistance band in your hands. Pull the resistance band apart gently so that it creates some tension with your hands still about shoulder width apart. Maintain the tension in the band as you rotate. Rotate your trunk as far as you can to one side while keeping your lower body still. Perform 10-20 reps to this one side and repeat to the other side.

I hope that these drills are helpful to improve your mid-back rotation and your back pain as well!  If you experience any sharp or severe pain during these drills, please stop and feel free to reach out to me for help.  Also, if you are not noticing any improvement after a week or so, I would recommend reaching out for some help as well.

You can also try the drills from this article if you’re having back pain from golf.

If you have any questions about your back pain, mobility, or what you can do this offseason to be better prepared for next season, I’m always happy to chat with you to help guide you to the best plan that’s customized just for you.  Don’t hesitate to contact me at joe@puredrivephysio.com to set up a call or in-person meeting.

Also, here’s a great resource as you head into the offseason – 9 FREE Workouts For Golf Performance

Go through all of the moves in this article with cues on proper form down below!

Feel Great. Golf Great.