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ever hurt your back due to swinging a club??

rollin

rollin

"Just playin golf pally"
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I know many people have history of back problems and I also understand sometimes one may hurt their back somewhere else and either scenario may lead to pain while playing and even tweaking something but it really stems from other reason. But did you ever actually hurt your back from swinging where as swinging the club was the reason for your hurt back?

I posted about this in another thread but was thinking to ask this question in its own right as a topic. I don't have any history of back issues. I am 50 and been working physically my whole life so sure there have been a sore and even sometimes worse back problem on rare occasions throughout my life. But nothing ever major or reoccurring. I been pretty lucky with that and I currently have had some minor discomforts due to some recent heavy work but no "major" recent issue at all to blame for what I am about to mention.

So with that said, I am on the 9th hole tee today (feeling great prior to that point) and "holly heck" did I hurt my back swinging my driver. Was the strangest thing. Just an uncomfortably weird swing and immediate pain as I went through the automatic motions to pick up my tee. I was barely able to play the rest of the par5 9th. Than could barely bend to tend to my ball needs on the green etc. After a few minutes rest I gave one more try on 10th tee. I just couldn't swing at all. It was hurting and was also too much on my mind. I am not really posting to try to find out whats wrong. If it gets worse or doesn't get better through this week I will have a doctor (if necessary) tell me that stuff. But just wondering if anyone ever hurt their back actually due to swinging in itself as the possible reason?

And perhaps why not (while we're at it) share some of your back or other injuries that came from simply swinging your club.
 
No, but I definetly made it worse by going full on too soon.
 
Back no...oblique yes.
 
I tore up something in my left mid back (around the bottom of my rib cage) when I was about 25 trying to force myself to swing from the inside while hitting a couple hundred balls. I'm right handed. To this day I have to seriously limit my shoulder turn relative to my hip turn or I risk aggravating whatever I did all those years ago and being down for 4 or 5 days. And it is nearly impossible for me to start my downswing with my hips.

Around that same time I also popped something in my right side rib cage while trying to hit a big swinging hook one day, it dropped me to my knees and I was done for several weeks. They very well may be related, but I've never had them checked out. My swing is built around these injuries with the biggest issue being I cannot freely rotate my shoulder independently of my hips without risking a lot of pain.

I can still play okay golf at times, but as I age into my early 50's it's harder and harder to make it through 18 holes without things getting a bit tired and sore.
 
I have hurt my back to where I was on my knees in pain from picking up my cat. I have and oblique muscle on the right that hurts (minor pain) most of the time and periodically hurts bad.
 
At this point I never have and hope I never do. Hope it is nothing serious.
 
I have yet to injure my back during a swing. If I have a long range day involving hybrids/woods, I'll probably be sore the next day in the lower back area, but that's about it (and I'll be the first person to admit I do try to use a bit more muscle than I probably should).
 
We as humans will pull muscles and get injured during our lives. Just goes with the territory.
 
Yep, have a thread on it here somewhere. Pulled a lat grinding at the range, deep under my right shoulder blade in the back. The injury impacted pretty much everything I wanted to do. I had to step away from golf and running and specifically work on it with a therapeutic masseuse and yoga-based exercises. I have continued to work on making my back more resilient through ongoing practice with stretching, exercises, breathing, and posture. The biggest lesson for me is that I was slow to take it seriously and likely made it worse before I started doing something about it.
 
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I hurt my back earlier this year, my fault for trying a shot i had no business trying. Kept me out for almost three weeks.
 
Yes ... at my age ... warming up is a must, but have hurt it mid-round ... for me its the lower back.
 
I've made my back sore playing golf but never injured it. But, back in 1988 I turned around to back up my car and felt something pop in the middle of my back just below the shoulder blades. Didn't hurt, just felt weird. By the time I got back to the office I couldn't move my head. Since I was going on a ski trip in just a couple of days I went to a chiropractor rather than an MD. Had I known I would have chronic back issues for the next 27 years I would have gone to an MD. When I finally did the doc said that they don't really treat chronic stuff and that had I come in right after it happened they might have figured out what I did. Later on another chiropractor I was working with finally told me he didn't think he was helping me and suggested it was more of a muscular thing and suggested deep tissue massage. That helped but didn't eliminate the pain. Just recently I had my acupuncturist (who has done wonders for my hip) work her magic on the area as getting back into golf aggravated the condition. The results have been excellent, better than I hoped. Acupuncture doesn't just treat pain, it can be used to help loosen chronically tight muscles.
 
I've wonked my back and gotten a muscle strain just by sneezing so yes you can tweak it hitting a drive for sure and especially if you are 50 and have worked hard over the years and could have lingering issues about to pop up.

Could just be a muscle pull which will go away after a few days (hopefully) but if the pain "feels" more centered, low and "stings" in a way you've never felt before rather than just aching, and it lasts well over a week - it's most likely a disc, which at your age are pretty normal to start degenerating.

I am 47 and have L4-S1 disc degeneration (lower back) and sciatica and one nasty shot out of the rough can knock me out for a week. Trying to play through it is miserable if it hits mid-round and your swing suffers big time as it's hard to not only take the club back but also swing through and follow through. I have always had strains occasionally but in 2012 I was carrying a bunch of heavy tile upstairs to work on my shower and I felt it tweak....then a few weeks later I hit a huge bucket of balls drove home and got out of my car and OWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Game over, man..........and it's been a problem ever since.
 
KeyserSoze said:
I've wonked my back and gotten a muscle strain just by sneezing so yes you can tweak it hitting a drive for sure and especially if you are 50 and have worked hard over the years and could have lingering issues about to pop up.

Could just be a muscle pull which will go away after a few days (hopefully) but if the pain "feels" more centered, low and "stings" in a way you've never felt before rather than just aching, and it lasts well over a week - it's most likely a disc, which at your age are pretty normal to start degenerating.

I am 47 and have L4-S1 disc degeneration (lower back) and sciatica and one nasty shot out of the rough can knock me out for a week. Trying to play through it is miserable if it hits mid-round and your swing suffers big time as it's hard to not only take the club back but also swing through and follow through. I have always had strains occasionally but in 2012 I was carrying a bunch of heavy tile upstairs to work on my shower and I felt it tweak....then a few weeks later I hit a huge bucket of balls drove home and got out of my car and OWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Game over, man..........and it's been a problem ever since.
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It is lower and favored to middle/middle-left side. I had a bad night sleep last night as I woke up a couple times to go the bathroom and its was really stiff. This morning too had a hard time even walking comfortably. Still hurts but has loosened up a good amount since this morning. I really hope its muscle which would make sense that's its stiff in the morn and losens up as the day goes on. But the fact that it is also middle located is what is my big concern. I know from reading the back is very tricky. Minor problems can cause severe pain yet major problem can cause little pain at all. Very intricate circuits of muscle, nerves, tendons and of course all mixed in and around the cord. I cross my fingers this is not anything major. I just cant afford (for many reasons) for it to be. Only time and/or a doctor visit will tell.
 
Yes, and that's another reason I swing the way I do, it's easier on my back.
 
When I saw this Thread I thought it was a Joke......I have this in my Back L4 & L5 Fused together also currently have 3 bulging Disc with torn tissue pressed against my
Spinal Cord and Bone Cancer on top of all that......LOL,lol but I will keep Playing Golf until I'm unable to move.........lets just say some days are better then others. I know my Days are numbered with how long I'll be able to keep playing Golf with my two Boys(15yrs & 13yrs)until then I'll keep Swinging. Life is Good!!

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,Mike.
 
Callaway_Golf said:
When I saw this Thread I thought it was a Joke......I have this in my Back L4 & L5 Fused together also currently have 3 bulging Disc with torn tissue pressed against my
Spinal Cord and Bone Cancer on top of all that......LOL,lol but I will keep Playing Golf until I'm unable to move.........lets just say some days are better then others. I know my Days are numbered with how long I'll be able to keep playing Golf with my two Boys(15yrs & 13yrs)until then I'll keep Swinging. Life is Good!!

,Mike.
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a lot to digest and I wish you the best for a loooong time :)

Fwiw to all, I been searching and it seems that "Yes" swinging a golf club can indeed damage a back. The twisting and forces generated can absolutely cause an injury if things go just right (or not just right lol) to cause one.
Hey, one time many years back I hurt my back just by going up my stairs rather in a hurry and when I got to the top I just turned to flip on the hall light while passing it and I was sore for a week with a terrible strain upper area. Was the strangest kookiest thing ever but just goes to show that almost any motion at all can do us in at any time if done just right (or wrong I again should say).
 
I tend to get some pain in the left side of my back after playing a round. Ive been able to stretch it and build up some muscle memory and it has lessened.
 
I was put on an anti-biotic last week and the doctor didn't tell me there were any restrictions. Turns out the golf swing is not something you should be doing when on this drug, heightens the chance for tendon or ligament damage. 2 days in the drug and 7 holes into a round I have a sore back, aching knees, throbbing elbow, pretty much a train wreck - called the doctor and he said, oh no you can't play while on the drug - so I'm off for 10 days.
 
NoLine said:
I was put on an anti-biotic last week and the doctor didn't tell me there were any restrictions. Turns out the golf swing is not something you should be doing when on this drug, heightens the chance for tendon or ligament damage. 2 days in the drug and 7 holes into a round I have a sore back, aching knees, throbbing elbow, pretty much a train wreck - called the doctor and he said, oh no you can't play while on the drug - so I'm off for 10 days.
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that's interesting because (on 3 anti's) I just finished 2 anti's for 10 days worth and still in the process of taking the 3rd. I was not told any such thing. I must look into this now that you mention it
 
I took a swing last week and my back found some pain that lasted a fee holes.
 
Back? No.

I did once hit a 5W out from under a low tree on a long fairway, never once thinking about my follow through. Club hit the branch above me and snapped the hollow steel shaft but didn't break off, the head swung right back around and drilled me in the back of the melon, knocked me out for cold for about ten seconds. Gave me a nice gash on the back of my skull that bled all over for the last six holes, but somehow no concussion.

Almost 20yrs later, that day still lives in infamy.

That said, hope you are feeling better. I slipped a disc for the first time in my life in March, and if that's what happened, you have my sympathies.
 
well, xrays today and some good news. No spinal or disc related issues. In fact other than a slight curvature (which I could have been born with) they said my spine looks pretty good. That (regardless of this latest injury) is actually a bit suprising great news to my ears imo for one being 50 and been working physically for most my life. So the injury would then be related to a possible strain, pull, tare, etc and not bone/spine/disc. But only MRI would show more of those such things and if not feeling better by next week than I'll seek a orthopedic doctor for further analysis. With that said, I have coincidentally this morning for the first time since Sunday felt a leap of improvement. I'm still hurting and its not easy but can now at least get up and do all a tad easier. So thats another good sign. I was becoming very concerned prior to all this today. Anyway, if the amount of improvement today is to come similarly every day, I should be back to norm sooner than later. Home from work now this afternoon and I only wish I could grab my bag and head over to the course :) But of course not close to that yet :( But my biggest of more important concern has been relieved :)
 
Every swing. Does it count if the back hurt first?
 
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