How to Deal With Back Pain While Golfing

Back pain is very common when golfing as you spend a lot of time standing up, and walking around. The repetitive nature of swinging a golf club also doesn't help. Consider a few ways to deal with back pain while golfing. Some of the suggestions provide instant relief, while others are long-term solutions.

Stretch Your Lower Back

When you feel some soreness coming along, try stretching out your lower back. There are two great ways to do this standing up. Here's the first one:

Stand up straight
Bend forward and try to touch your toes

Focus on letting your lower back round here; you can bend your knees slightly if you want as we're not trying to target the hamstrings!

The second one is called a ballerina stretch:

Stand up straight
Cross one foot over the other so you have a front and back leg
Push the hip on the front leg to the side as much as you can go, bending your spine laterally
Reach up in the air to accentuate the bend

There's a video here that shows it in action if you can't follow these instructions. It stretches a really tight muscle in your back and should give instant relief.

Choose a Lighter Bag

Carrying your golf bag around can put a lot of strain on your lower back and be the source of your pain. When you add golf clubs together, they're pretty darn heavy. Buying a lightweight golf bag takes a lot of pressure away from your back muscles. It means they're not working as hard, so you shouldn't be in as much pain.

This is important in the long term, and you could also consider packing fewer clubs. If worse comes to worst, you can borrow a club from your golfing buddy anyway.

Strengthen Your Core and Glutes

If you want permanent relief from back pain while golfing, you'll have to do some exercises in your spare time. This can be part of a warm-up or cool-down when you get home—but you should try to do them 3-5 times a week. Additionally, are tight glutes causing lower back pain for you? This can play a significant role in enhancing your overall comfort and performance on the golf course.

A 30-second glute bridge hold, followed by 10 reps
Hold a forearm plank for 30 seconds (or as long as possible)

These are the only two exercises you need as they strengthen your core and glutes. When these muscles are strong, they protect your back and stop it from doing all the work. You should see a dramatic reduction in lower back pain after a few weeks. Keep this up even when the pain goes away, but you can reduce the frequency. Also, it's a good idea to do 3-4 sets of these exercises as part of the circuit. As they progressively get easier, make them harder by holding the bridge/plank for longer or adding weight for resistance. You've got two ways to get instant relief, plus some exercise to ensure your back doesn't keep hurting in the long term.