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Changing swing stance for lower back pain. ?

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wilsonstaffiron

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As I age (over 50) I'm easing back on the swing speed. But , as of late, after a round I've had some lower back pain. Last only a day or so but doesnt' bother me during the round. Suspect the driver is my enemy. My stance is a little under shoulder width, just wondering if I open or close it some if it would make a difference. thanks...
 
A closed stance will put less torque on your back in the backswing. It can also make your backswing longer.
 
Your back pain is related to your quads and hamstrings. Keep these stretch and it should help with the pain. Also check your posture, make sure the flex in the waist isn't slouched. Open or closing the stance isn't going change the pressure on the lower spin and surrounding muscles.
 
Thanks for the info. I do slouch some when I lose concentration. I try not to but maybe it is creeping in on me more than I think.
 
My body aches every morning, every inch and I'm not even 50 yet :( :( . My instructor has me playing from an open stance with the ball back on every shot. My body never felt better swinging a club , even though I still ache even during s round of golf. I tried the ball forward and a square to closed stance and would feel pain at times. I know I'm giving up yards not having the ball forward but in the long run my body feels like I can play 18 with no problem now.

Were each pretty different , but this has helped me.
 
PetuniaSprinkle said:
That's someone's back and you're guessing. That's irresponsible.
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What, telling someone to stretch and check his posture is "irresponsible?" Hell, I'd tell him to go into yoga (though I don't yoga). A lot of lower back pain is caused by tightness in the legs and hips. As you get older flexibility tends to decrease and you have to be more proactive in you fitness for athletic endeavors.
 
Lets please keep this gentleman's thread about what he asked. I do not want to clog it up with back and forth.

thank you
 
No worries. If he is like me and finds stretching uncomfortable he should look into something called "Active Isolated Stretching." Very short duration stretches, no longer than 3 seconds, but focused on one area at a time. Years ago a baseball player with the Padres resurrected his career using this method. I have also used acupuncture for chronic thightness (it isn't just for pain).
 
To the OP, in addition to checking your flexibility, you may want to consider other causes of lower back pain. Osteoarthritis affects a lot of people over 50. Things like excessive anterior tilt, overactive or underactive glutes, etc. Were I in your shoes, I'd check it out with my doctor. When I started having knee issues, I got my knee checked out (even had an MRI). Knowing exactly what my knee problems were gave me the assurance to continue in some activities while being very certain to drop other activities (yay to golf, nay to sprinting).

In the backswing, if you rotate your shoulders to the same degree, relative to the target line, in an open stance as you do in a closed stance, the torque in the lumbar region will be greater in the open stance than in the closed stance. The downswing, being more dynamic, is less easy to predict as, even in a closed stance, the hips might be fired with the shoulders are still rotating back, thus increasing the torque tremendously.
 
I had a lesson yesterday. In my follow thru to finish my instructor noticed I had an arch in my lower back at my finish. He said this puts lots of pressure on my lower back and if I want to play this game for a long time I should focus on a complete tall finish where I completely post up on my left leg. In other words a complete weight shift to my left side.
Perhaps have a pro review your swing (Tadashi ) to make sure you are not putting unnecessary strain on your back. Of course, stretching and core work will help with this also.


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Den60 said:
A lot of lower back pain is caused by tightness in the legs and hips. As you get older flexibility tends to decrease and you have to be more proactive in you fitness for athletic endeavors.
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There are a lot of reasons for lower back pain and there are a number of causes which dictate differing solutions. For example, hyperextension and hyper-flexion of the lumbar spine can both lead to lower back pain, but they're opposites. In the case of the former, tight or shortened hip flexors can be a contributing cause, while in the latter, weak spinal erectors may be the cause. The solutions to just those two issues are different. Hyperextension might be better improved by strengthening the hamstrings, not stretching them more, and hyper-flexion may be improved by strengthening the spinal erectors.
These are things that popped into my head and I'm just 'some dude on the internet'. Given the seeming myriad of possibilities for causes of low back pain, it seems the best course of action is to get properly assessed and then seeking the appropriate solution (which everyone knows, in all cases, is daily heavy deadlift singles followed by a 12pack).
 
This has been a common problem nowadays. Since you are over 50, the pain might be due to tight hamstring or some issues with the quads. Consulting a good physio might be the best choice for you. A good physio might be able to recommend you the best stretches for pain relief. I had this problem before and when I consulted my physiotherapist in Toronto of the Physiomed clinic, he suggested some pain release stretches along with sessions.
 
There is a therapist, now in our town, who has worked on a lot of pro golfers. http://www.golftoday.co.uk/global_golf_post/2014/pain_in_the_back.html His approach is different than most and he has been quiet successful for guys like Love, Beem, Els, Couples, as well as Mickelson. His approach is to repair the damage, rest, and retrain. He evaluates and makes changes to the swing when needed. For me, I was totally unable to swing a club at all. They determined that the facet joints of the lower four vertebrae were effectively locked by the surrounding muscles which prevented any movement without sharp pain. They freed those muscles, gave me three simple exercises, and made me take a couple of weeks off. (I had already been "off" because of pain for over three weeks, with no improvement in symptoms.) They evaluated my swing and made a simple change in posture. It was a miracle, after months of misery, I was totally pain free on returning to action. An additional benefit, as long as I remember the proper posture, I can not shank a shot. If I forget, instant shank.
 
I've suffered from left lower back pain (right handed golfer) over the past few years.

For me when I come over the top my lower back hurts. Luckily this season things sort of clicked with my swing and for the most part been pain free.
The last two days however the OTT move crept back in and I've noticed a little pain

One reason I come OTT is not finishing my turn / coil. One thing that has helped that is over exaggerating flaring out my back foot. It looks odd but really allows me to turn more.
 
I have to close my stance to aleve pain, tried open stance & it made it worse. Mine has nothing to do with muscles, its a lateral (sideways) bend in my lower back.
 
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