Rehabilitation of Low Back Pain in Golfer

The golf swing produces large loads in the spine, particularly during downswing to follow-through.

These intense loads can strain muscles, injure facet joints and lumbar discs, and cause spondylolysis.

Poor swing mechanics, poor endurance, and muscular imbalance can increase susceptibility to overuse injury. Spondylolysis treatment is usually conservative, consisting of no golf, core strengthening, and correction of muscle length imbalances

Multidisciplinary team is the best approach to prevention, rehabilitation, and performance training for golfers.

Technical flaws and physical imbalances contribute to the development of back pain in golfers. Unless both are addressed, golfers may continually cycle through periods of injury.

Without low back pain, golfers have up to twice as much trunk flexion velocity during the downswing, using the abdominal muscles. Therefore, core stability training is an integral part of a rehabilitation program for a golfer with low back pain

To initiate core control correctly, diaphragmatic breathing, pelvic tilting (progressing from supine to quadruped to standing), pelvic floor exercises, and neurodevelopmental rolling techniques are recommended to activate and train the core. These start after the acute pain phase of injury.

The activation of the diaphragm, pelvic floor, and abdominals is central to stabilization of the trunk during respiration and postural activity20,46 and should be incorporated into a golfer’s rehabilitation program early on. The importance of breathing control while swinging or putting is widely accepted in the golfing community. Incorporating diaphragmatic training early, including swing programs, allows for functional transition from clinic to course.

Reference and picture: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3899905/