Readers Count - Second Missed Cause of Back Pain With Golf
Monday, September 15, 2008
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Reader Jean Christophe wrote asking about the second factor - how many times do you bend wrong, instead of bending right using the leg and back muscles. This is a largely missed cause of back pain both in every day life and in golf. I asked readers to count how many times every day they bent badly. Jean Christophe wrote:
"Dear Dr Jolie Bookspan,
"One year ago, I wrote you about golf and you gently answered. I could not play then because of the season and just wanted to share with you that we have to bend and reach the floor a lot of times: We tee the ball 18 times, and pick up the tee from the ground 18 times, we take the ball from the hole 18 times, we repair pitches on the green 10 to 15 times, we putt 36 times, we go to the bunker 4 times so we have to take the rake on the ground, we make divots that we take from the ground 18 times, and we have to take the flag from the ground 6 to 12 times; this means that we bend in a golf course around 115 times in a round of 18 holes. If you add the practice session where we put a ball on the ground 60 times or the putting practice, this means that we bend 200 times each time we go to play golf.
"Now, all of us bend the wrong way. But frankly, I tried to squat but it is not practical to tee the ball (it is not nice looking either but let's forget that) or to pick up the ball from the hole (ie under the ground).
"So I tried to stand on one leg and make the kind of stretch you spoke of ones putting the trunk and the other leg horizontal. This is more nice looking but not really the solution.
At the end, I reverted to bend badly like all the other players, unhappy because there must be a way.
"Last but not least, I made a swing more on my whole feet (instead of on the balls of my feet) and played solid. So the swing doesn't lose with good posture. But these 200 bendings need some work.
"Dear Jolie, thank you for all you help.
"Jean Christophe"
1. The reader captured the problem with this summary: "All of us bend the wrong way. But frankly, I tried to squat but it is not practical to tee the ball (it is not nice looking either but let's forget that)." To solve this problem, the first thing to do is to make good bending, using a squat (also called crouch) or lunge (drawing at right), practical to tee and pick up the ball:
- Use this to learn a simple bend with one foot in front of the other - Leg Exercise That Helps Your Back - Why The Lunge?
- Use this post to learn to half-squat, or crouch - How to get started good bending - Free Exercise and Free Back and Knee Pain Prevention - Healthy Bending.
2. Standing on one leg, lifting the other keeping the back straight and upper body uplifted, rather than bent over is a useful way to bend for objects on the ground. It is often called the "golf pick-up."
3. Reader Jean Christophe counted 200 bad bends in a single game of golf. No wonder it hurts. He reminds that bad bending is not the answer and wants to know how to get out of the habit: "At the end, I reverted to bend badly like all the other players, unhappy because there must be a way." One good way is to realize that bending right as an isolated strange action will not build the brain and body habit. This is bending you want the day when not golfing:
- If golf alone is 200 times, how many times do you think you bend in an average day? - How Good Would You Look From 400 Squats a Day - Just Stop Unhealthy Bending
- When should you use good bending - How Often Should You Be Healthy?
- A reader actually tries good bending - How a Reader Stopped Recurring Pain, Got Stronger, and Said Aha!
4. To see the first major overlooked factor in back pain with golf, click the post - Lower Back Pain and Golf.
5. Stopping back pain from golf, other sports, and daily life is covered in the books Fix Your Own Pain Without Drugs or Surgery and Health & Fitness in Plain English THIRD edition How to be Healthy Happy and Fit for the Rest of Your Life.
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Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. For answers to personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Limited Class spaces for personal evaluation. Top students may apply to certify through DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. For answers to personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Limited Class spaces for personal evaluation. Top students may apply to certify through DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Golf drawing of Backman!™ copyright © Dr. Bookspan from the book Health & Fitness in Plain English THIRD edition How to be Healthy Happy and Fit for the Rest of Your Life.
Labels: fix pain, golf, lower back, lunge, readers inspiring story, squat
3 Comments:
At Monday, September 15, 2008 6:48:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hi, this is a good reminder. It is so easy to just fall back into bad bending habits.
My question is about twists. Perhaps you have addressed this elsewhere. Do you recommend twist exercises such a yoga twists? If I do not do these regularly I notice that my range of motion (twisting motion) decreases. Are they safe? Do you have any recommendations for good twist exercises? Thanks!
At Friday, September 19, 2008 4:00:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
Tabletoo, thank you. Practice good bending. It will become habit, like any other habit. The post gave three links to make the habit more fun.
A question on yoga twists was answered in a past post. A recap:
- A nice range of motion is nice. Some yogas emphasize "wringing" the spine, which can strangle without benefit. Check if you evenly distribute a twist over the entire length of the spine, or constrict one easily moved area. A common habit is over-moving one small area that moves, leaving the rest, which could use a little motion, unmoved.
- Some people, trying to wring, make a second problem of shear force. Shear can injure disc, facet, bone, soft tissue, restrict blood flow, depending where you shear.
- Twisting by itself, within limits isn't a big problem. Not stabilizing the area (muscles to hold good positioning) can result in a twist that moves one bone forward or back on another - shear force. Shearing can come with weighted twist (below) and even lying and pushing a twist range.
- Notice a resemblance between between some yoga twists and accepted injurious bending wrong with straight legs and twisted spine (torque from a twisted position) such as to pick up a suitcase or child. Both can damage, either sooner or later. It doesn't become magically different or healthful if you call it an exercise. It is the same overdone mechanical pressure on the spine.
- One idea is to use a functional movement, which is one used for real life. An example is in driving, to look behind you when changing lanes or avoid others changing lanes. Start standing and see if you can turn using the whole spine, not the only second neck vertebrae. Practice both sides and transfer practice to sitting.
At Tuesday, June 02, 2009 2:08:00 AM,
Laura K said…
Check out the new Sumi-G golf head covers. You can pick them up off the ground using the club. No bending. Plus they're really stylish. www.sumi-g.com Or watch this 12-second video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHzUiz9lEM.
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