Swing change help - major back issues

[gillis1]

Anyone have any ideas where I (a senior citizen) who golfed 5 times a week, can get help making a major swing change to compensate for major SI joint damage and arthritis in lower lumbar. I've been unable to play for 1 1/2 years. Just got go ahead to ease back in to golf. I've bought a set of Adam's Blue Hybrid clubs. Extensive physio and chiro ongoing and I go to gym 4 times a week to get back in shape. I have to go from a powerful and fast full body swing to a very slow, relaxed and deliberate swing with little turn of my hips. I've researched the internet and found some ideas (of course many of the proposals are complete opposites). Anyone out there have had a similar journey and what did you do?

[multimut]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Sorry to hear about your back issues, and hope you find a solution, as ideally Golf should be something that you can enjoy for many decades. Maybe even shoot under your age.

I will comment in two areas:

1) It's good you getting physio and chiro. I might suggest you look into Muscle Activation Technique (MAT). MAT is a relatively new modality; Peyton Manning credited MAT with saving his career after his neck problems. I've posted before on MAT. Look it up. If you try treatment, I would suggest only going to people who have "master" level certification as I believe MAT is one of those areas, where only the deep experts can help you; but they can help you a lot. Here's one article by Greg Roskopf (the person who developed MAT) on SI Joint Pain.

http://www.ptonthenet.com/articles/Tight-Muscles--SI-Joint-Pain-2510

2) Second, I don't understand why you think a swing with little hip turn would help your back. With little hip turn, you will be twisting your back more. With more of a hip turn, where both hips and shoulders turn together, you will twist you back less. I used to have some back discomfort from golf swing, but since I moved away from the "modern swing" (where you restrict the hip turn) to an "old school" swing (where you let the hips turn a lot), I don't have any discomfort at all.

EDIT: Realized that the link doesn't show Greg's answer to the question. I've pasted part of his answer below.

In a case such as this, you note that your client has limited ROM in his hips and lower back area. Since, as trainers, we cannot treat the injury, the tightness becomes our primary area of concern. We have to question why these tissues have tightened up. Typically, it is due to a protective mechanism where the body is protecting itself from moving into positions of instability. Since stretching has not seemed to work, the body seems to be saying, "fix the problem!" It would seem from here that the instability component needs to be addressed. Instability from the muscular system is due to a lack of neural integrity of the muscles that support the joint. When muscles are not getting proper input from the CNS, they typically lose the capability to move the joint though it’s full ROM. This causes the opposite muscles to tighten up. Therefore, the hamstring tightness can be secondary to lack of contractile capabilities of the hip flexors and quadriceps muscles. These muscles would need to be "jumpstarted" in order for the tight muscles to relax, since when the body senses stability, it no longer feels the need to tighten up.

This isometric process for jumpstarting muscles is the foundation to Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT). For more information on MAT and the concepts discussed here, go to www.muscleactivation.com.

[Golftime]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Anyone have any ideas where I (a senior citizen) who golfed 5 times a week, can get help making a major swing change to compensate for major SI joint damage and arthritis in lower lumbar. I've been unable to play for 1 1/2 years. Just got go ahead to ease back in to golf. I've bought a set of Adam's Blue Hybrid clubs. Extensive physio and chiro ongoing and I go to gym 4 times a week to get back in shape. I have to go from a powerful and fast full body swing to a very slow, relaxed and deliberate swing with little turn of my hips. I've researched the internet and found some ideas (of course many of the proposals are complete opposites). Anyone out there have had a similar journey and what did you do?

Take a look here. https://www.swingsurgeon.com/ He has lots of testimonials from people with various injury issues who can now play pain free and at a relatively high level.

[Gridiron]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Take a look here. https://www.swingsurgeon.com/ He has lots of testimonials from people with various injury issues who can now play pain free and at a relatively high level.

Be warned. Kept accessing my credit card 5 years after cancelling from his prior site.

[esidirop]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Take a look at this ....worked wonders for me https://youtu.be/Zw_cNOd0wYs

[nearace]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Arm swing only,pretend to hit from a bunker on every shot.

[Golftime]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Be warned. Kept accessing my credit card 5 years after cancelling from his prior site.

Did you get it resolved? Don is not the type of person to do that. He did split with his old partner who kept the original site. I expect that because the breakdown the partner did not maintain the original site.

[73monte]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

I would agree with the previous poster regarding hip turn. I have lower back problems as well. I swung with a considerable amount of upper body turn, with very little hip turn on the backswing. I took a lesson, and it not only improved my game immensely, it took the stress away from my lower back.

The other thing I did, and would advocate if you're not doing it already. I splay my front foot. Really helps to clear on the downswing, which also reduces lower back stress.

[Golftime]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

I would agree with the previous poster regarding hip turn. I have lower back problems as well. I swung with a considerable amount of upper body turn, with very little hip turn on the backswing. I took a lesson, and it not only improved my game immensely, it took the stress away from my lower back.

The other thing I did, and would advocate if you're not doing it already. I splay my front foot. Really helps to clear on the downswing, which also reduces lower back stress.

Turning the front foot out really lets you turn through on the forward swing and saves your knee.

[Hope469]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Anyone have any ideas where I (a senior citizen) who golfed 5 times a week, can get help making a major swing change to compensate for major SI joint damage and arthritis in lower lumbar. I've been unable to play for 1 1/2 years. Just got go ahead to ease back in to golf. I've bought a set of Adam's Blue Hybrid clubs. Extensive physio and chiro ongoing and I go to gym 4 times a week to get back in shape. I have to go from a powerful and fast full body swing to a very slow, relaxed and deliberate swing with little turn of my hips. I've researched the internet and found some ideas (of course many of the proposals are complete opposites). Anyone out there have had a similar journey and what did you do?

Take a look at the swing Freddy Couples makes. Youll have to bring the club way outside, generating your power in the backswing with your shoulders and arms. Then allow the club to "loop" or "drop" to the inside of your body on the downswing. The best picture I can give you is to try and imagine drawing a "question mark" behind you (?) while you swing. You will also want to open your stance (as freddy does) and leave the front foot open (as another OP mentioned). The loop style swing eliminates some of the forced pressure on the back. You will proabably have to change ball position and overall set-up to the ball. There will be some tinkering. Sorry to hear about the back, I hope your recovery time is fast. All the best

[gillis1]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Thanks so much for the ideas! Lots of good caring golf nuts here. All seem to advocate more erect (taller) swing with left foot turned out a bit and right foot turned in or centered. Back swing also straight up with elbow open not tight to chest (the old towel trick) . Getting first class care with specialist physio trained in deep muscle stimulation and adjustment (unlocking that SI joint (2 hospital stays when it locked. )). Also seeing pain specialist at Allevio clinic in TO. Injjections, neuro radio frequency and have had prolotherapy. Stretch program is most critical activity and swimming. Now to go at it at indoor golf simulator and find the right swing. I love to walk but that is when flare ups occur. Need stretching stations on courses and clubhouses.
Thanks again. You are good people.

[spinaltap]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Sounds like you already have enough advise or experts helping you out currently. But I would suggest seeing someone in your area that has TPI certification. They do a great job in figuring out how the body plays a role in how you swing and how your swing effects your body. go to their website and find someone close to where you live. (www.mytpi.com)

[bl8d]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Anyone have any ideas where I (a senior citizen) who golfed 5 times a week, can get help making a major swing change to compensate for major SI joint damage and arthritis in lower lumbar. I've been unable to play for 1 1/2 years. Just got go ahead to ease back in to golf. I've bought a set of Adam's Blue Hybrid clubs. Extensive physio and chiro ongoing and I go to gym 4 times a week to get back in shape. I have to go from a powerful and fast full body swing to a very slow, relaxed and deliberate swing with little turn of my hips. I've researched the internet and found some ideas (of course many of the proposals are complete opposites). Anyone out there have had a similar journey and what did you do?

look into Brian Sparks swing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eURbeXGkeCU
Absolutely strain free on the back and hips. The hips turn because the legs are free to turn.

[Gridiron]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

Did you get it resolved? Don is not the type of person to do that. He did split with his old partner who kept the original site. I expect that because the breakdown the partner did not maintain the original site.

Haven't seen anything in the last couple of years but it would go quiet for a year, then try to access....then quiet....then some attempts to access....sporadic for about 5 years. Maybe a year ago there was an email that came saying "it wasn't us, it was them" but at that point I really didn't care who anyone was trying to blame.

[sikoram]

Re: Swing change help - major back issues

I had old fractures in lumbar spine come back to haunt me last summer. I tried chiro, physio, intra muscular stimulation and spinal decompression to alleviate the sciatica I was experiencing. The sciatica was powerful enough to drop me to my knees on several occasions.

All of the above produced minimal improvement. Posting up on my front leg in the golf swing was brutal. It got so I just didn't want to play. It wasn't the rotation of the body in the swing, it was the weight transfer to my left foot (right handed) in completing the swing or just walking.

I am on the improve because I took up Iyengar Yoga. The stretching and core work found in Yoga has done wonders for me. I take a class on Tuesday nights with my wife and repeat the poses every day at the Y or at home. The swing rotation has become easier but it is golf. Nobody ever shot 54 over 18 holes (other than that North Korean guy).

Yoga is working for me and keeping me on the golf course. The view from the Downward Dog isn't bad either.