The lower back is often referred to as ‘The Bad Guy’ but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The lower back is usually the victim, as opposed to the culprit, and here’s why.

The vertebrae in the lumbar spine are actually designed to play more of a stabilising role in the human muscular skeletal system. This means they allow very little range of motion.

The lumbar spine sits right in between the thoracic spine (a highly mobile segment of the spine) and the hips (also another very mobile joint). In theory this means the lower back should be very safe, but to the contrary, due to most of our daily lifestyle patterns often our hips and thoracic spine will become tight, putting our lower back at risk of injury.

So why is having a tight thoracic spine and tight hips so likely to cause lower back pain? Thankfully the answer is relatively uncomplicated. Essentially, when a golfer with tight hips, tight thoracic or both tries to rotate (golf swing), because those mobile joints (hips/mid-upper back) aren’t moving enough, all of that force instead goes in to the lower back, a segment of joints that aren’t really meant to move much at all.

Here are some quick stretches that you can perform at home daily or in the locker room at your golf club, pre and post-round, to prevent your lower back from being the next victim of your tight hips and upper back.

Oliver Yourn: Golf Stretch
Foam Roll Thoracic
1. Foam Roll Thoracic

Equipment: Foam roller, exercise mat (optional).

Directions:

  1. Lying face up with feet flat and bent legs, place your foam roller across your thoracic spine or upper back at roughly armpit height.
  2. Place your hands behind your head with fingers interlocked to support your neck.
  3. Lift your hips slightly off the ground and tilt your head back so your head tilt matches your spine angle.
  4. Gently roll from the shoulder blades to the upper/middle of your back and return.

Pro Tip: For safety reasons, avoid rolling down to the lower back or up onto the neck. This is counterproductive and is likely to cause injury. As with any exercise, if you feel uncomfortable, just stop.

Repeat Twice: 60 seconds


2. Open Book Stretch

Equipment: Mat (optional).

Directions:

  1. Lying on your side with your knees and feet stacked at 90 degrees, extend both arms out from the chest with palms facing each other.
  2. Keeping your knees together, rotate your torso by lifting your arm 180 degrees over from the starting position. Keep your bottom arm on the ground and let your head turn with your hands.
  3. Hold for three seconds then return to the start position.

Pro Tip: To increase the stretch, place the palm of your upper hand behind your head and perform the same movement with the elbow bent. This will increase the range of motion and will add to the benefits of this exercise.

Repeat Twice: 12 times each side.


3. Self-Massage Glutes

Equipment: Massage ball or tennis ball, exercise mat (optional).

Directions:

  1. Sit with your knees bent at 90 degrees.
  2. Place your massage ball underneath the outside of your glute just below the belt line and roughly 45 degrees towards your tail bone from the outside of your hip.
  3. Cross the same leg as the massage ball over the opposite leg so that your ankle is resting just above your knee.
  4. Using your body weight to apply pressure, gently manoeuvre the ball around the glute to find any tight areas and massage to release tension.

Pro Tip: To increase the stretch and ultimately the benefit of this exercise, bring the stance foot closer to your body. This will create more of a stretch and will increase the effects of the exercise.

Repeat Twice: 60 seconds each side.


4. Standing Hip Rotation

Equipment: Driver or dowel, foam roller (optional).

Directions:

  1. Standing upright with your feet shoulder-width apart, rest both hands on top of your driver or foam roller.
  2. Keep your upper body still and twist your hips from side to side without any movement in your shoulders.

Pro Tip: Challenge yourself by taking the support of the club away and performing the exercise with your arms folded. Check yourself in a mirror to ensure your upper body is still and you are creating maximum separation from the lower body to the upper body.

Repeat Twice: 15 times each side.


Oliver Yourn: Golf Stretch
Oliver Yourn: Hip flexor stretch
5. Hip Flexor Stretch

Equipment: Foam block (optional), exercise mat (optional).

Directions:

  1. In a half-kneeling position, tuck your pelvis and drive your hips forward, creating a stretch at the top of your leg in the hip flexor.
  2. Hold for 30 seconds, keeping your front heel flat on the ground when you push your weight forward.

Pro Tip: Engage your core and squeeze your glutes to maximise your pelvic tuck in order to get the most out of the stretch.

Repeat Twice: 30-second hold on each side.


Oliver Yourn: Golf Stretch*With nearly 20 years’ experience as a player, Oliver Yourn’s interests now lie in helping other golfers achieve their goals through specialist golf fitness programs and training. As a strength and conditioning coach, he has worked with Asian Tour and tier 1 Australasian Tour professionals.

See FitGolf.com.au for more.