ABSTRACT
Low back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal problem affecting golfers, yet little is known of the specific mechanisms responsible for this injury. The purpose of this study was to compare golf swing spinal motion in three movement planes between six male professional golfers with LBP (29.2 ± 6.4 years; 179.1 ± 3.9 cm; 78.2 ± 12.2kg) and six without LBP (32.7 ± 4.8 years; 174.8 ± 2.9 cm; 85.8 ± 10.9 kg) using a light-weight tri-axial electrogoniometer. Results showed golfers with LBP tended to flex their spines to a larger degree when addressing the ball and used significantly greater left side bending on the back-swing. Golfers with LBP also had less trunk rotation range of motion (obtained from a neutral posture) which resulted in a relative “supra-maximal” rotation of their spines when swinging. Pain-free golfers demonstrated over twice as much trunk flexion velocity on the down-swing which could relate to increased abdominal muscle activity in this group. This study was the first to show distinct differences in the swing mechanics between golfers with and without LBP and provides valuable guidance for clinicians and teachers to improve technique in order to facilitate recovery from golf-related LBP.
