I often get asked by golfers who are dealing with back pain if it’s better for them to walk the course or ride in a cart. The answer might surprise you.
The short answer is that for most golfers with back pain, walking will generally be better than riding in a cart. But there are several important caveats.
If you’re dealing with back pain, the first thing to understand is that golf-related back pain can have many different underlying causes, including bulging or herniated discs, arthritis, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis and more. Some of those conditions can be relatively serious and require a unique approach for each to manage or resolve. You should always consult a healthcare provider that specializes in back pain to rule out any of the more serious causes of back pain before following general advice such as this.
That said, most causes of back pain – including in golfers – are biomechanical in nature (as opposed to an injury, defect or disease in nerves, discs or other tissues). Biomechanical refers to the way the body moves, and more specifically, the way joints move and function as a result of the actions of muscles, ligaments and tendons. Your body was designed to move a specific way. When you deviate from this because of injury, inactivity or odd movement patterns those biomechanical changes can wreak havoc on your back. Note that the golf swing CAN be one of those movements that causes problems. The swing is an unnatural movement for the human body (repetitive, one sided/asymmetrical ballistic rotation). The good news is that by being proactive to prepare your body for the golf swing, you can prevent or reduce any negative impacts.
Biomechanical causes of back pain generally respond well to movement, as opposed to being sedentary. There are many reasons for this which are too numerous for this post and I will touch on those in subsequent posts. In addition, sitting puts a lot of stress on many of the tissues in and around the spine, often exacerbating pain.
About those caveats….
Caveat 1. Most back pain responds positively to movement (such as walking) IF the biomechanics of that movement are sound. For walking that means: your walking biomechanics are sound if the muscles responsible for moving your lower body and maintaining your upright posture during walking are healthy and reasonably strong, thereby permitting walking in a way that doesn’t put excessive load and strain on your spine. Just because you can walk, doesn’t mean your body is walking the way it was intended to. Here’s an analogy I often use. Suppose you have a car with a right flat front tire. If you start the car and step on the gas pedal, the car is going to go, even though it’s not functioning in the way it was intended to. Drive it with the flat long enough and parts of the car – the rim on the wheel, the axle, etc. – will begin to wear down. So it goes with your body. If your brain tells your body to walk it’s going to walk, but it might be wearing down other parts of your body over time if all of the muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons involved with walking aren’t functioning properly.
Caveat 2. Endurance also plays a factor. You may be strong enough to walk nine holes with great form but as you become fatigued you may start to walk with poor posture or form, resulting in more load on the spine and associated back pain. If your back feels better with walking at the start of your round but starts to tighten up or hurt later on, a lack of muscular endurance may be your problem.
What if it isn’t common biomechanical back pain? The following generalities are true:
- Disc issues (bulges, herniations) usually respond better to walking, depending on the severity and location of the lesion.
- Spinal stenosis often responds better to riding as walking can aggravate the stenotic areas, depending on the severity and location of the lesions.
- Different types and locations of arthritis often respond better to walking but not always, again depending on the severity and location of the arthritic joints.
- For common biomechanical back pain, walking is usually better than riding.
How do you relieve back pain for good, rather than just managing it? This is why I started GolfForever and it’s what my clinic The Aspen Back Institute used to do best. You have to identify the root causes of the pain and rebuild the body for full healing to take place. This usually involves muscles that for one reason or another (past trauma/injury, overuse, underuse, poor posture, etc.) stopped functioning properly and faulty movement patterns developed. Remember that car analogy? Faulty movement patterns and poor posture are more often than not the root causes of back pain. A sprained ankle or bum knee can often lead to a chain reaction of faulty movement patterns that result in back pain. Think of the spine and pelvis as the keystones for the body. When the body breaks down, the spine and pelvis often bear most of the load and manifest the symptoms of that breakdown. More often than not, identifying the muscles and joints that aren’t working properly and rebuilding them with focused exercise is the key to long term relief from back pain. Your body is an amazing machine and is often able to overcome pain and injury, returning to full health when the correct underlying condition is identified and the right prescriptive recovery plan is followed.
– Dr. Jeremy James, DC, CSCS, Founder & CEO, GolfForever
Want to walk the course with less pain?
In the short video below, Dr. Jeremy James shares practical tips to help you stay comfortable on the course so you can enjoy the benefits of walking while building the strength and endurance to go the distance.
Click the video below to watch. This video is also available anytime in the GolfForever app under Library > Education & Pain Relief > Walk or Ride.