Putting and My Aching Back!
I am guessing that all of us can relate to the title of this article. I am sure you have bent over for that 4 footer (can’t give you that 4 footer, sorry), and felt that lower back feel tired, sore, painful or tight. Regardless of what the word is, you feel it! I also am guessing that some of you have changed to belly putters for the reason that your back hurts when you putt! Even if you are one of those players that has switched to a belly putter because of back pain, that pain is an indicator of something else going on within the body. I am sure we could use the excuse: I am older now and that is just what happens; or maybe we use the “cave man excuse”: humans just were meant to walk on two legs! Regardless of what excuse you use, there is a reason and solution to solve those lower back problems. Even if you don’t realize it, the lower back that you feel when putting is also affecting the other parts of your game (i.e. driving, long irons, chipping, pitching, etc.) This article has the goal of explaining why your back is sore when you putt and what we can do to help alleviate the problem. Why Does My Lower Back Ache? Well, let me say this to start. If you are in agreement with the “caveman excuse” you are in the ballpark as to why the lower back begins to ache on the 12th or 13th green. Standing upright, which is a specific posture (keep that word “posture” in mind throughout this article), places stress on the lower back. When I say stress, I am talking about the muscles of your lower back working to support your body in a specific position. The same holds true for when you putt. You get behind the ball, line the putt up, look at the line, maybe crouch down, take a few practice putts, and then away you go. In all the actions described above, your lower back is actively working to maintain posture in all those positions. Do this little activity to give you an idea of what your back is doing all the time to support your body. Take your hand and make a fist. Squeeze that fist as hard as you can for one minute, no less, more if you can. Now relax. How do your hand and forearm feel? Pretty tired, huh, maybe stiff. What you just did is exactly what your lower back does all the time. It is constantly contracting to hold your body upright. After time it gets tired and the result is a sore, stiff, and tight lower back. Up to this point we understand that the lower back is involved to a great extent in supporting the body. Now, how about when we move? Have you ever felt that back tighten up when you are getting out of a chair, and then you have to wait a second after you stand up before you start walking? Again, I will guess that the majority of us can answer yes to this question. This an example of a movement where the lower back is already fatigued, but nevertheless the lower back is now involved in moving the body, even though it is fatigued. When you walk, run, bend-over, turn, or rotate, your lower back is involved in the movement. The lower back gets a so-to-speak “double whammy” when it comes to what it does for the body. The lower back is involved in both supporting a position in which you place your body and also in the movement of the body. (If you need an example of how much the lower back works during the day, keep your fist clamped for a day, and see how your forearm feels the next day.) So at this point we know the reasons why our back is sore when we step over that 4 footer for birdie (sorry it is still not a gimme in my book, gotta be inside the leather). It is a twofold reason: number one has to do with posture, and number two with movement. Now that we know why our lower back gets sore or tight, how do we fix it? How to Fix that Aching Lower Back Before we describe ways to fix the lower back let us first give some suggestions to those who already have severe lower back problems. I would first suggest you see your personal physician. Always better safe than sorry. If you are someone who constantly has a sore lower back or you get up every morning with a stiff back, go see your doctor. You never know what might be going on in that lower back area. Quite possibly you may have a problem with a disk, a bone spur, or any number of serious lower back problems. I have seen a lot of these issues in my day, and I will say, number one, it always important to be under the supervision of a physician in such cases, and, number two, if you catch such lower back problems early they are much easier to treat than the ones that linger. So do yourself a favor and go see your physician before things get worse. Now, on to how to help eliminate the lower back that tires on the back nine of your weekly round. We know from above that we are using the back “24-7” so to speak. Golfing requires the lower back to work even harder than normal. This is a result of the rotating, stabilizing, and power production required of the swing. The lower back is getting tired because it is neither strong enough nor does it have enough endurance within its muscles to support the activities you perform on a daily basis! I am betting by now you have a pretty good idea of what to do to rid yourself of that lower back soreness. The lower back must become stronger and increase its endurance capacities. This will increase the durability of the lower back to withstand the stresses placed upon it during your daily activities. Strength can be defined as having enough force production with your muscles to perform a certain activity, and endurance is having enough energy in those muscles to do an activity over and over again. These are simplified definitions, but they work well for what we are talking about. Strength in relation to the lower back has to do with the ability to maintain postures. You must get the lower back strong enough to maintain the postures of the activities you participate in (i.e. golf). Endurance in the lower back is creating enough stored energy in the lower back muscles to do to whatever activity it is that you do over and over again without getting tired (i.e. golf swing). The combination of strengthening the lower back and creating more endurance within these muscles creates the highest probability of the lower back staying healthy for all activities. The next question you probably have is: what are the proper exercises I should perform to get my back in better shape for golf? Take a look at our products at www.bioforcegolf.com for more information on this topic.
Other Golf Betting Articles
Vegas Odds & Ends (Jan. 20) Folks aren't necessarily talking baseball when they say World Series these days.They might mean golf's old World Series, the long-running World Series of Poker or the relatively new Orleans Annual Horseplayer World Series, which begins Thursday, Jan. 21, and runs through Saturday, Jan. 23.The event costs $1,000 to enter and players ...This Aint Golf! It's Cricket! Go on, admit it, you have never read an article on cricket before, right? But wait, this aint no ordinary cricket, this is the Ashes! The Ashes? Yes, the series between England and Australia that dates back to the 1870’s. The two old foes locked in combat in England throughout the summer.Australia, world number one, world champions, such ...New Coaches For NFL Teams There will be some new faces on the playing fields this season in the NFL. Ten new coaches will join teams across the country. While some are better than others, new coaches can serve many purposes. Giving a new perspective on how the game is played may help many players who are struggling a bit. New training exercises, schedules, and plays can ...Baseball Tips - Catchers and Catching Every so often I get a request from a parent who tells me that their child is a catcher and that they would like me to help their child “learn some catching things”, or “give them some catching tips” or something along those lines. Sometimes I know the player and have seen him catch before. Sometimes I’ve heard that the player catches. Somet ...The Great White North Dream Team Team Canada is looking to repeat thier Gold Medal performance in Turin in the upcoming Olympics. The 2002 Victory in Salt Lake City over USA was the first on 50 yrs for the country that brought this great game to life. Canada along with the Czech Republic and Russia are the early favorites, but in the Olympics one-game situation a lot of teams ...PGA Tour Players go from Fighting Adversity to Decompressing The PGA Tour’s first mayor championship was disputed this year and the second stage goes from the 7,445 yard long field to a field almost 500 yards shorter and with 10 weeks to lessen the pressure in all the aspects.The TOUR changes from the climatically rough grounds of Augusta National Golf Club to the welcoming meadows of the Harbour T ...The Dish: Nothing Korny When ESPN announced Tony Kornheiser would man the Monday Night Football booth, I smiled.I used to watch Pardon The Interruption all the time, and while its formula has gotten old and tired (perhaps primarily because the wizards at ESPN Original Entertainment have sucked the life out of it by trying to apply it to just about every other sh ...Soccer Cleats Guide - General Tips on Soccer Cleats Soccer cleats are athletic shoes that are specially designed for soccer players. Soccer shoes have large studs or cleats on the bottom that assist players in gripping the surface. These studs help players to be easily moved in the desired position.Generally the cleats are made up of molded plastic because metal cleats are illegal as they ...The Best Birthday Celebration for Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille O'Neal has quite a celebration for his 34th birthday; he decided to go with a great victory for his team O'Neal was accountable for scoring a total of eight points in overtime and finished with a season-high 35 as the Heat once again beat a poorer opponent the NBA Charlotte Bobcats.This is the second straight NBA game that Shaqu ...PGA Championship Preview Medinah Country Club – Medinah, IllinoisWelcome to the new Medinah. The PGA Championship returns to this historic course outside of Chicago and it is going to be quite the test for the greatest players in the world. Not only is this the longest course in major history but tight fairways, re-contoured greens and tall vegetation are going t ...The Dish: Being Johnny It's good to be Johnny Drennen.No, not Johnny Damon. Johnny Drennen.If you are Johnny Drennen, you are the centerfielder for the Single-A Lake County Captains. You are 19 years old. You've hit three homers in your brief minor-league career way down deep in the Cleveland Indians farm system. You're not considered a top prospect, at ...Poker Fashion Just like any other media driven sport in the world, poker has its own fashion and its own distinct look. And just like all other sport related looks, the 'poker look' stems from the stars of the sport. You have your jerseys from sports like football and hockey, polo shirts from golf, the suburban look of x-treme athletes and many other looks. B ...A Brief History Of Golf The game of golf originated from a game played in Scotland in the 15th Century. In the first games that are related to golf, there were no holes. But eventually holes were added, and the fact that the game originated in Scotland can't be denied. In the 16th century golf's status and popularity grew due to the fact that it got royal endorsemen ...The Ways Golfers Screw Up The biggest problem with us golfers, I suspect, is that we are eternally hopeful and anyone who plays the game demonstrates time and again that old adage about re-marrying – it demonstrates the triumph of optimism over experience.Despite the fact that the game can make happy men very old, that the best we manage is to ride the crest of a ...Golf Games Golf is a game that originated in Scotland, but is played throughout the world. Golf is an international game today and there are worldwide championships for professional golf like the Masters, the Open Championship, the US Open and the PGA Championship. Golf is generally considered to be an elite game, but there are many kinds of golf games tha ...Factors Which Make For a Great NFL Game Catching an NFL football game, whether on television or in person, is a great way to spend the day. There are certain key components however which make a particular football game even that much more eventful. When considering the following factors, one is sure to agree that these specific components make a game more exciting.Rival Teams ...Funai Classic Mike Tirico does such a great job handling golf coverage for ABC to start the season. He’s a pro play-by-play guy, covering the events on the course, a steady presence who offers the kinds of questions that can lead to interesting observations and analysis from whomever’s in the booth with him. For the last two years, Nick Faldo and Paul Azinger ...The Chrysler Classic of Greensboro Tiger is going to take some time off. The next time he plays is likely to be the season-ending Tour Championship. More on that later, but don’t pay attention.I’d like to take some time off. The question is from what. Lately I’ve been a guest on a radio show about soccer, which I follow about as closely as I follow the free-diving hockey i ...Chrysler Championship Did you know that Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo is a golfer? He tried to qualify for the U.S. Open last year. You would have heard about it if he made it. None of the other former professional athletes, like Ivan Lendl, Mark McGwire or Brett Hull made it either.I bring it up as a pathetic segue to the Monday Night Football tilt. I h ...California Casinos The state of California, located on the west coast of the United States, is by far the most populous state in the country. There are also a number of California casinos operating within the legal jurisdictions of its Native American owned lands. Because they are located on Native American land, many California casinos are located in out-of-the-w ...WGC-American Express Championship Not Michael Jordan. Not new pals and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush I. Not a sing along, not team dinners. Not a scouting mission to Ireland weeks ago.None of the above could help the U.S. win last week’s Ryder Cup at the K Club, much less help them avoid another embarrassing thrashing at the hands of the Europeans. Appare ...What's the Odds of Tiger Woods Leading the US to Win the Ryder Cup in Ireland? The Ryder cup is in Ireland this year between Friday 22nd and Sunday 24th September 2006. The event is held in the beautiful county of Kildare at the prestigious Kildare Golf and Country Club. The Ryder Cup has been competed for since 1927 when it was held in the USA. The tournament began as a tournament between Britain and the US, and became th ...The Buick Open I remember Corey Pavin. He was a regular on leader boards in the late 80s. He had a moustache. Greg Norman was No. 1 most of the time, and wore pink shirts, white pants. Crocket and Tubbs were setting the pace then.Chewing gum was also big and many-hued and decidedly not sugarless. Hair was big in certain quarters.Long time ago. Wh ...Casinos and the Coushatta Reservation Karla Y. Phelps, "The Casino, the Coushatta, and the Community: Road to Riches or Road to Ruin?" Touchstone, vol. XIX (2000), 23-38.This article by Karla Phelps examines the socioeconomic and political impact the Grand Casino Coushatta has had on the Coushatta reservation and the surrounding community in Allen Parish. Phelps discus ...Looking For Work In The NFL Since most of the training camps will be starting in a week or two, teams have be scrambling to sign players and offer them fair contracts. But there are still those who are waiting for more money. They would rather wait than sign and go to camp. Training camp is not necessary in order to play on a professional team, but it is highly recommended ...
|
