Do You Golf? This is Why Your Back Hurts And Why You Need to Train it


Forces on the Spine During a Golf Swing (And Why You Must Train Them)

Most golfers underestimate the forces on the spine in a golf swing. Learn how Golf Gym coaching and TPI / Evolved Coaching methods protect your back from the high speeds and high loads placed on the spine.

So, Your Back Hurts?   

    Your spine is dealing with way more than “a little rotation” every time you swing. It’s handling compression, shear, and rotation at speeds most of us recreational athletes never train for. If you’ve ever finished a round with a stiff back, or maybe you always feel stiff after the driver, that’s not age, that’s a problem waiting to happen. You’re asking your spine to tolerate forces you never actually prepare for. This is where a structured golf fitness program built on Evolved Coaching and TPI principles becomes a performance advantage, not just rehab. And don't get me started on common rehab practice for a golfers back - this will be another post.

What Forces Actually Hit Your Spine in a Swing?

    The golf swing produces three main categories of spinal load: compressive forces, shear forces, and rotational forces. The combination matters more than the individual number—high compression plus rotation, at speed, is where issues show up. If you aren’t training tissue capacity and control for those forces, your spine becomes the weak link long before your swing is the issue.

    Compressive force at the lumbar spine (L4–L5) during a full speed golf swing has been measured at roughly 6.5–8 times a golfer’s body weight. Think about it, your hips are going up, your torso is going down and twisting into impact at high speed! This is a similar force to two linemen hitting each other head on! For a golfer whose hips and thoracic spine don’t move well, those forces concentrate even more into a small area of the low back.

What Swing Patterns Cause This?

Certain patterns place a lot of extra load on the low back. Here are a few of the big ones:

  • Excessive lumbar extension at the top (big arch in the low back) (reverse spine angle).

  • Early extension through impact (hips driving toward the ball, losing posture).

  • Limited hip internal rotation, forcing rotation to come from the lumbar spine instead.

  • Poor thoracic rotation and side bend ability, pushing motion into the low back.

Now how can we train the spine to handle 6-8x your body weight?

Here are a few movements that get close to that;

  • Barbell Back Squat (0.8-1.6x BW)
  • Conventional Dead Lift (75-100% 1RM)
  • Depth Jumps (60-90cm box)

Doing these alone won't protect your back from pain, these are good lifts that provide a comparable amount of compression force on the spine. These movements are still much less important than accurate side bend, and accurate rotation of the spine.

If your PT has given you mini bands, bird dog, clam shells, just run away please - the load on the spine during these movements are almost 0 and they're supposed to prepare your spine?!

How Can a Golf Gym Assessment Help Me?

At The Golf Gym we use methods from Titleist, Evolved Coaching, and some things I made up that work great. No stone will go unturned.

During a Golf Gym Mobility Assessment, A failed deep squat, limited hip internal and external rotation, poor pelvic tilt control, or limited thoracic rotation and side bend often show up in the golfer with back pain. Instead of fighting the swing, we train the body so the swing demands no longer push your spine beyond what it can manage.

Don't Wait, Seriously Don't Be That Person That Waits

Most golfers wait until their back hurts before they think about spine training. It's best to build capacity before pain shows up, so you can chase more speed, not the nearest chiropractor. A Golf Gym Golf Fitness Assessment will tell you exactly which spinal and rotational patterns are at risk and how to train them.

Are You Convinced Yet?

Ready to build a spine that can actually handle the forces of your swing? Book a Golf Gym Golf Fitness evaluation - We can do this online or in person in Portland, Oregon. 

Get a custom plan to protect your back and play more golf.

Book Here



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