Save Your Back, Save Your Swing

By Dr. Todd Wickmann –

Is your golf game plagued by back pain or other injuries? Many amateurs suffer from common swing afflictions that result in not only poor shots, but pain. These inefficiencies in the golf swing can be addressed and corrected by examining a few areas of the swing. We need to evaluate cause and effect for the flight of the golf ball, as well as for the body.

Posture
Often times, players get themselves into positions in their setup and backswing that require them to make drastic compensations on their forward swing. In order to avoid these problems we must examine two relationships in the golf swing. The first of these relationships that we will examine will be the relationship between your sternum and the ground, or your posture. If you take care to set up at address with the proper posture, you are giving yourself a chance to swing more efficiently and make more consistent contact. Your goal should be to stay in the posture that you establish at address and turn around your spine, rather than move your sternum up and down. Any movement of your spine up and down through the swing requires compensation in order for you to make contact with the golf ball. The more consistent your spine angle is, the easier it is to make solid contact.

Drill for Posture
In order to prevent excess movement of your spine angle during the swing, we must make sure that your posture is correct to begin with. One of the best ways to work on your posture is to use a mirror. This will enable you to see and adjust your posture. When you stand in the mirror, be sure to stand perpendicular to it, as if you were going to hit a shot in the opposite direction. You want to be balanced and relaxed with you feet shoulder width apart, and your hands hanging under your shoulder joints. Once you feel that you are in a good, athletic posture, you can now practice maintaining it. Take a few practice swings in the mirror and try to be conscious of maintaining your spine angle throughout the swing.

Distance Between Club & Body
Now we need to evaluate the second relationship that helps to determine the quality of contact, the shape of your shots, and the health of your back. This is the relationship between the golf club and our sternum during the swing. Very often, we see a collapsing of the arms at the top of the backswing or the club stuck behind the body. Getting the club stuck behind the body leads to a rerouting of the golf club that relies too much on timing and compensations to get the golf club back to impact. It is these compensations that lead to the (among other things) “Reverse C”, which is one of the leading causes of lower back pain in the golf swing.

Your goal should be to maintain the distance between your sternum and the golf club, throughout the swing while keeping the golf club in front of your body, rather than behind. This will facilitate more solid, consistent contact.

Drill for Swing
A great drill that you can use to help yourself to over come this affliction of getting your club too far behind your body is to place a head cover or towel under your left arm while you take practice swings. This will give you a feeling of the relationship between your arms and your body that you need to have, which is the club staying in front of your body, rather than behind it. Promoting this relationship will help to prevent the club from getting too far behind your body on the forward swing, and most importantly, help you to save your back!

These golf tips could help save you back along with Chiropractic care. Dr. Todd Wickmann at Lifestyles Chiropractic can help elevate back pain by chiropractic manipulation in his state of the art office. You can also practice your golf swing with his indoor golf simulator with the expectation of saving your back.

Dr. Todd Wickmann
I did not start my education to become a chiropractic physician, but it did not take long for that path to reveal itself. I attended Anderson University to become an athletic trainer. I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing what I love, helping the injured and watching sports. During an

internship for student trainers in the NFL, I had my first exposure to the field of chiropractic.

During the time that I first saw an injured athlete get adjusted, my mother was in the hospital because of her lower back. She was on traction and had been prescribed very strong medication. She was finally discharged and then spent another week at home in bed because she was not able to walk downstairs. After seeing a chiropractor she was walking around the house in two days. She continued to progress and still gets adjusted today for wellness.

My senior year at Anderson University was spent looking at opportunities in the NFL, physical therapy, graduate school and chiropractic. During this time, my mom was pretty faithful to remind me about the results she had with chiropractic. I was also intrigued by the advanced manual techniques I had observed. It was so unique from what I had learned up to that point. In the fall of 1992, I enrolled at Northwestern College of Chiropractic. It was one of the best decisions I ever made, I was born to do this.

My mission is, “Whole Body, Whole Family, Whole Life!”

One of my favorite quotes regarding health refers to the fact that some people seek miracles for their health which would defy the laws of nature and yet they take for granted the fact that their bodies automatically obey the laws in the first place. This is the greatest miracle in all of health care.

I believe that you and your family were created to be made physically, emotionally and spiritually whole. Whether your just warming up or preparing to take your victory lap, everyone has the right to a whole life. I am here to facilitate those who wish to take that opportunity.

I am married, my wife’s name is Katia Wickmann and we have one daughter named Abigail and one son named Nathan. We enjoy traveling, church ministry and spending time with friends and family. My wife is a gifted singer and I appreciate the outdoors while golfing, fishing or watching a game.

How do we live the Whole Body, Whole Family, Whole Life-style?

1) Move Well – Regular chiropractic care and exercise. One without the other, and you get less from both.

2) Eat Well – Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food.” Like medicine, food has side effects for good and bad.

3) Live Well – Faith, Family, Work and Fun.

 

Lifestyles Chiropractic is conveniently located in south Fort Myers. Call 239-334-9355 and take your first step towards better health today!